Sword Shadow
by Writers of the Storm
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki picks up the art of kenjutsu as a means of self defence. Follow how one ninja's concern for the Naruto's safety leads to the birth of Konoha's greatest swordsman. (Rated T to be safe)
1. First Strike

Sword Shadow

Chapter 1: First Strike

Author's note: Hello readers. This is my first ever foray into writing fan fiction. So please be kind. I have read tons of stories before and so if some aspects of the story seem familiar, I can assure you it was not intentional and if you bring it to my notice, I can either have it changed or have the source acknowledged. I wanted to write a story to test myself and I found Naruto learning, appreciating and eventually mastering the art of kenjutsu as a way forward. Also I haven't read many with the same theme. There is only one conversation in this entire chapter but subsequent chapters will involve greater dialogue I assure you. As this is my first attempt at story telling, any constructive criticism would be much appreciated. I also promise you won't have to read through any more substantial ANs as well in the future in my story. I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I did writing it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and this disclaimer is applicable to all chapters in this story.

Yugao Uzuki was Konohagakure no Sato's premier swordsman. Her skill with the sword far exceeded the basic instruction that members of ANBU were provided. As a member of the Black Ops division of her ninja village, Yugao had gone on numerous missions most ninja within the ranks of the village couldn't even fathom. Considering this facet of her life, Yugao was understandably upset when the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, assigned her to watch over Konoha's resident trouble maker and pariah while squad rotation policies where being implemented.

The vast majority of Konoha's adult populace was well aware of the fact that Naruto Uzumaki played host and jailer to the most powerful entity known to civilization as a result of some clever handiwork by the late Fourth Hokage – Minato Namikaze. In a desperate attempt to save the village he was sworn to protect, Minato sacrificed his life in order to contain the Kyubi within Naruto.

Regrettably, Naruto was seen as a physical manifestation of the suffering and carnage that Kyubi brought upon Konoha. As such, many a villager indulged in the therapeutic act of destroying the nine-year-old boy's body and spirit to derive some sort of compensation for their losses. It was during one of these therapeutic sessions that Yugao was able to track Naruto being chased by a rotund and inebriated member of Konoha's civilian population. A few short moments earlier, the afore mentioned civilian had spotted a less than stealthy Naruto attempt to take advantage of the food a bakery had discarded after the end of the working day. While Naruto wasn't an aspiring freegan, he knew better than to pass up on some decent quality bread considering his current standard of living.

The unidentified civilian had spotted the Naruto in the alleyways in which the free meal was discarded and decided some retribution was in order.

Naruto turned around at the sound of a wooden crate being kicked aside and shuddered in fear when he saw a man holding a glass bottle in his hand approach him with a menacing look in his eyes. Dropping the half loaf of bread in his hand Naruto's eyes scanned the vicinity for anything he could use within easy reach to defend himself.

Finding a three foot long piece of metal, Naruto knew that the drunk man's movements would be uncoordinated and therefore he needed to calm himself and use a swift and decisive guerrilla tactic to hinder the man's movement and subsequently run for safety. Naruto took a few deep breaths to steady his heart and held the piece of metal in front of him in a form that felt most natural to him.

From the rooftops that surrounded the alleyway, Yugao watched with interest as her charge for the night calmed himself and adopted a most peculiar stance. Nonetheless, she was adequately surprised by the young boy's action to steady his nerves but was unpleasantly reminded that this action was a consequence of being in countless similar situations.

Yugao made no move to interfere in this volatile situation as her mission parameters clearly indicated that her presence was not to be discovered unless absolutely crucial. Besides, from her position on the rooftop, with a deft flick of her wrist, she could launch kunai and/or shuriken to wound the man, giving her charge sufficient time to escape.

Naruto had managed to steady his previously panicked state of being and was assessing his options. Naruto was terrified as the man before him was wider than he was tall and possessed a weapon of his own as well in the form of the bottle whose contents he had just consumed. The size of his opponent became more imposing with every echoing step as the man took booming strides towards his prey.

Naruto backed up into the shadows of the alleyway to create some space between himself and his adversary. Naruto quickly realized this means of action was futile as the large man continued to consume the space between the two with each purposeful stride. Carefully watching the right arm of the man within which the empty bottle lay firmly clasped, Naruto awaited the moment that would allow him to counterattack and hopefully escape this current predicament.

As the drunken man readied his charge upon the hapless boy, a cruel smirk graced his features. Continuing his charge, the man made towards the boy in an attempt to knock the boy down with a single devastating blow to the top of his head. Naruto noticed the arc of the man's arm and quickly decided on a course of action. He lunged forwards surprising his attacker and sidestepped the man's attack during his brief moment of hesitation. Naruto was within his attacker's guard and swung his make-shift weapon as viciously as possible upon the man's right ankle. Naruto didn't stop to survey his success as he bolted away from his assailant, only momentarily slowing down to exchange his weapon for the previously discarded bread loaf. Naruto ran towards his apartment, adrenaline coursing through his veins as he left the man in alley to his own devices.

The experience was surreal and exhilarating for young Naruto as this marked the first time he was able to escape from such an encounter with both the food he was desperately craving and an injury free body. Navigating the streets of Konoha as expertly as possible for a nine year old, Naruto reached his shoddy apartment mere minutes later. With the mission accomplished, the adrenaline left his body as quickly as it came and the resulting crash meant that Naruto barely reached the trodden couch in his living quarters before his eyes closed. The prize for surviving the encounter, the half consumed loaf of bread, lay on the floor temporarily forgotten until breakfast the next morning.

A small smile graced her features as she watched the boy crash into his couch, falling asleep with a smile of his own plastered firmly onto his face. Yugao reported the night's events to the Hokage. Upon reaching her commander's office, she relayed the events of the night with unerring detail. It was clear to the aged Hokage that the ANBU agent was particularly proud of how the young boy had stood up for himself using a makeshift sword. The unmistakable hint of pride is what led to the current topic of conversation between the pair.

"Hokage-sama", Yugao spoke reverently, "if you would allow it, I would like to teach Naruto the basics of kenjutsu so that he may be prepared for such situations, if and when the need arises. While his strategy was sound, he was up against a drunken man who had no formal training in any form of combat."

The Hokage turned around to face the massive window in his office as he pondered his charge's request. Hiruzen loved the boy dearly and was painfully aware of the mistreatment he was subject to on a daily basis. The idea proposed by Yugao greatly appealed to him until he realized that members of his council, both ninja and civilian, would be in uproar if they learnt that the village pariah was being tutored by one of their elite ninjas.

What would follow would only cause Naruto more harm than good, as more members of the populace might be tempted to cause bodily harm to the child. As the Hokage turned back around to face Yugao, she identified the defeated slump of her commander's shoulder and correctly guessed that she would not be given the affirmative.

"Yugao-chan", the Hokage began looking into her eyes conveying his thoughts on the matter with the mere address.

"I understand Hokage-sama", Yugao picked up the signals easily. She chose to continue however. "I just wish there was some way to pass on instruction to the boy. The pain was clear in his eyes, if only masked behind his determination."

That statement sparked an idea in the Hokage's mind. The problem arouse from private tutoring and reallocation of a competent ninja's abilities towards a lost cause in the eyes of both councils, but not the passing on of instruction. "Yugao-chan, I want a critical assessment of Naruto's physical abilities and mental capacity to the best of your ability submitted a week from today. Along with a recommended training program for the boy to compensate for any lacking in either criteria. I cannot have you spend time tutoring the boy but maybe you can pass on your knowledge in written form."

Yugao snapped her eyes to meet those of the Hokage. The idea was sound since instilling the fundamentals of combat need not require an active tutor. Naruto could learn from scrolls about adequate exercises, basic kenjutsu and if he took the matter seriously, he would instill discipline into his life, a value most important for a disciple of kenjutsu. Giving a sharp nod to her commander and a quick salute, Yugao snapped back her mask on and disappeared in a flurry of leaves.

The Hokage sighed once again. Sure a great problem was on the verge of being solved but why did his ninja insist on leaving his office using a leaf shunshin – they always left leaves behind in his office.


	2. First Steps

Sword Shadow

Chapter 2: A First Step

It had been a week since Yugao witnessed Naruto's exploits in the alleyway. It was time for her to give in her report on the matter as assigned to her by her commander. Over the past week, Yugao had been assigned a full time mission that involved the safety and assessment of the aspiring Konoha ninja. To the best of her abilities, the ANBU ninja avoided interfering with the daily activities of the boy. However, there was one incident where her skills and expertise were called forth for the sake of Naruto's protection. As Yugao walked towards the Hokage's office from her ANBU base she recalled the events of that night.

_Yugao watched Naruto from the shadows on the rooftops as she had been doing for the past five days. Naruto had just received his monthly allowance from the Hokage two days ago and Naruto decided he would treat himself to his favorite meal – ramen. As he returned from a relatively late supper from Ramen Ichiraku, a smiling Naruto decided on taking the scenic route back to his apartment on the outer periphery of the housing complex in the Northeastern quadrant of the village. _

_As he passed through the dense foliage that made up a significant portion of this part of the village, he failed to notice the four burly men that had been following him since he passed by Konoha Stadium. As Naruto passed by the disused Hatake clan house far to his right, his pursuers were confident of their revenge, as this portion of Konoha was significantly less populated. However, as soon as they spotted Naruto turn in towards his apartment complex, all four men felt a sharp spike of killing intent wash upon them in a suffocating wave._

_One of the men, Shinji, turned around to identify the source of this nauseating feeling and promptly soiled his pants at the sight before him. His yell alerted his comrades to his predicament and they pivoted from their spots to a sight that would haunt them for weeks to follow. A sadistically smiling demonic spectre was waving a large sword at the men and upon further realization they noted that the spectre was pointing the sword in turn at their respective gentlemen sausages. With a collective yell, the four men continued down their path towards the main gates of the village in a panicked haste, as far away from the demonic form as possible. _

Later all four men would all swear that the container of the Kyubi had made a deal with a demon to protect the area around which he lived. Yugao smirked under her cat-patterned mask – some part of that story actually held merit. Yugao had to admit that she indulged herself at that moment, the pleasure she obtained with a sharp burst of killing intent and a simple genjutsu had plastered a smile upon her face for the rest of the week.

As Yugao reached the doors that led to the Hokage's office and raised her arm to knock, she heard the fatherly voice of her commander beckoning her in. "Come on in Yugao-chan" invited the Hokage. Yugao stood smartly and patiently as she waited for Hiruzen to finish looking over the last pieces of paperwork for the day. Sanctioning the last mission request and placing the appropriate stamp upon the sheet marking its ranking as a function of difficulty, Hiruzen smiled and patted himself on the back.

It was only just past three o'clock and he had finished his work for the day and was now about to approve of a training scheme that would potentially change Naruto's life for the better. He waved a hand in front of Yugao to signal that she may begin with her report. Yugao placed the written report into the outstretched arm of the Hokage and continued with her oral report.

"Naruto Uzumaki is a nine year old citizen of Konoha who will be applying to join the Konoha Ninja Academy at the start of the next intake. For his age he seems to be of the appropriate height but is substantially lacking in weight. This is mainly due to the lack of a balanced diet. After following him around for the past week, I have deduced that he is quite adept with his agility but would require additional strength training during his academic years to be on par with Kiba Inuzuka and Sasuke Uchiha, his future classmates at the academy." Yugao paused for a moment to ascertain whether the Hokage had any questions after her physical assessment of her target and when she determined otherwise, began recounting what she could about Naruto's mental facilities.

Continuing her report, Yugao took a quiet breath before she recounted the rest of her findings. "Naruto's reading ability seems to be severely retarded. While he is able to correctly identify all of the items on the Ramen Ichiraku's menu, I believe it is only due to character recognition and memory. Ayame from the ramen stand is known to have aided Naruto with his reading ability, limited as they might be. In reference to Naruto's memory, the boy is able to absorb information that appeals to him like a sponge and his recall of the same is most impressive for a nine-year-old boy with no formal education or parental guidance." Yugao did not stop her report even as she noticed the downcast look on Hiruzen's face as she mentioned this last facet concerning Naruto's life.

She was well aware of the Hokage's connection towards the boy and his inability to change the dilemma that was Naruto Uzumaki's life due to the politics involved in the situation. "Naruto's most impressive characteristic stems from his ability to adapt to any situation wherein he is in a pinch. He is able to ascertain two or three options out of a delicate situation with relative ease but unfortunately his body cannot cope with the expectations of his plans."

"Thank you." The Hokage had expected much the same analysis and was pleasantly pleased to note that the unfortunate living conditions of the boy had not negatively impacted his mental facilities. Hiruzen looked up from the report he had been presented and looked up expectantly at his charge. This was the fun part. "So Yugao-chan, what do you have in mind in terms of adequate instruction for Naruto-kun?" the Hokage finished.

Yugao's eyes lit up at the prospect of being able to administer a toned down version of her own training schedule from her Chuunin days onto a fresh academy student. The idea of raising a kenjutsu master in Konoha the likes of which had never been seen before was exhilarating. She was certain that if Naruto followed this path with the same level of devotion as she had when she was Chuunin, Konoha would secure a valuable asset to its services and that the prospect of playing such a fundamental role in this development was driving her absolutely giddy.

She began to explain her plans for Naruto's development as was outlined in her report. "First and foremost, it is important to strengthen his body and improve the boy's speed and stamina. In order to accomplish this, I propose sword swinging and basic physical exercises as well as running to improve speed and stamina. The finer details of this section of the training regimen are outlined in the report. To supplement his physical training, some light reading about combat strategy will educate him on relevant subject matters as well as improve his reading ability. There will be no instruction in kenjutsu katas until either one of us can determine his physical adequacy."

The Hokage whole-heartedly approved of the proposed system. While it was slightly harsh for a boy of his age to be told he was going to have to earn the approval of a mysterious teacher to further his kenjutsu studies, Hiruzen's limited exposure to bojutsu made him realize that discipline was a key element in training with the sword. Hiruzen matched eyes with Yugao and nodded once to show that he approved. Beaming with pride, Yugao looked expectantly at the Hokage and requested a favor.

"Hokage-sama, I would like to donate the bokken that I received from my master to further Naruto's study." The Hokage smiled. A bokken is but a mere piece of wood used to train apprentices in the art of kenjutsu. However, the symbolic significance of the act was not lost on Hiruzen. A bokken while inexpensive could still be used for sparring purposes, even at ANBU level, and for Yugao to part with the bokken that her master had presented to her was indicative of the faith she placed in the boy's hands. This bokken was being passed down from Konoha's premier swordsman to possibly her first and last student. Hiruzen would not deny Yugao the courtesy and Naruto the honour of this exchange, even if the boy would not find out the identity of his master and instructor and the significance of the token for several years to come.

Nodding once again in approval, Hiruzen waited expectantly. Yugao presented the Hokage with a simple sealing scroll within which a training schedule and the afore mentioned bokken were sealed. The Hokage took the scroll from his ninja wordlessly and placed it within one of the drawers in his desk until it could be handed on into Naruto's possession.

Yugao bowed slightly and was about to take her leave when Hiruzen spoke again. "I want the boy to have a normal life, well, as normal for a ninja as possible. I wish that he meets his peers and creates new experiences with new friends and his future Genin team. However, after he makes it to Chuunin, I would like to present you with the opportunity to apprentice the boy if you would like."

Yugao looked back up from her bow and replied sagely. "I would very much like the opportunity Hokage-sama but it would be necessary for the boy to take up the art in earnest before I begin any instruction."

"Very well," replied the Hokage, "We shall address this issue when it is time to cross that bridge".

"Hai Hokage-sama". Smiling back at the Hokage, Yugao made a quick hand-seal and took her leave.

The smile on Hiruzen's face quickly vanished as he swore at her departure. "Damn it, not again with the leaves!" However, the smile returned to his face at the prospect of securing Naruto's safety with this new training regimen.

Naruto was not accustomed to having visitors at his apartment. Every month, usually in the first week, a ninja would appear at his doorstep informing him that the Hokage had summoned him. This was done so that the Hokage could give Naruto his monthly allowance. However, Naruto had already received his allowance for the month of November and he was sure that if the Hokage was to meet him he would not arrive so early, he never came to visit Naruto until the late evening.

So Naruto was suspicious when he heard a knocking at his door. Three sharp knocks, he noted, definitely ninja. When Naruto arrived at his door, he found an ANBU ninja standing outside his door. "The Hokage is expecting you Naruto-san", said the ninja and then promptly disappeared in a shunshin. Two visits to the Hokage's office within a space of a week were unusual for Naruto. He wondered if the old man had good news regarding his application to the Ninja Academy as it was due to start in a little over two months' time.

Naruto went back into his apartment and made himself presentable to the Hokage and then commenced the long walk towards the Hokage tower. It was times like this that Naruto wondered why he lived so far from the center of the city and then the condition of his wallet reminded him – cheap rent.

Another blessing that stemmed from this early summons was the lack of people en route to his destination. Naruto was painfully aware of all the pointed glares he received as he strode around the village. He was certain he wasn't deserving of everyone's ire but since no one was offering an explanation nor was anyone actively attempting to hide his or her dislike for him, Naruto decided he would bare the brunt of this attack as nonchalantly as possible.

As he reached the Hokage Tower, he craned his neck as far back as required so that he could see the Hokage's office. He closed his eyes for a minute as he recalled the view from the office with unerring detail. He had seen firsthand the amount of work that went into being the Hokage, but that view from the top must surely be worth the pressures of the job. 'Maybe I should become a Hokage too', Naruto mused to himself as he climbed the spiral staircase through the spine of the building that would eventually lead him to the Hokage's office.

As the Hokage's secretary ushered Naruto towards the office, Naruto opened one of the two doors and slid in. With a large smile and a polite wave, Naruto announced his presence to the old man. "Good morning Hokage-jiji. You wanted to see me?"

"Naruto-kun, you made it already? Please take a seat, we have much to discuss", said the Hokage as he smiled to see the exuberant boy enter his office and get comfortable on one of the two chairs on the other side of his desk.

"I'm not in trouble again am I?" Naruto asked the old man. "I haven't done anything to trouble anyone since our last talk, I promise!"

Hiruzen laughed lightly at the expense of the confused child in front of him. "No, Naruto. You aren't in any sort of trouble". The Hokage told the boy causing Naruto to breathe a sigh of relief. "At least not yet," added Naruto cheekily, causing Hiruzen to laugh once again with a knowing glint in his eye. Hiruzen was well aware of Naruto's prankster abilities, having fallen victim to the boy's schemes on a few occasions himself.

As Naruto watched the Hokage get a serious look in his eye, he sat up straight and focused all his attention on the next words that came out of the Hokage's mouth.

Hiruzen began with a look that told Naruto not to interrupt until he had finished speaking. " I want to start by saying that your application to start your studies in the Ninja Academy has been accepted and you will be starting in the academic year starting in January. There is some paper work involved in finalizing the details of your entry and you will need to sign a document that my secretary will present to you on your way out." Naruto was ecstatic at the news but maintained his silence as per the unspoken request.

Hiruzen was pleased with the boy's reaction. Naruto could be brash and outspoken when things were casual but when it came to business, the boy had an uncanny ability to flip a mental switch and match frequencies with the Hokage. Hiruzen continued the delivery of the news. "A lot of young ninja aspirants are trained by their families to gain an advantage in their education as well as to induct their children into the secret techniques of their respective clans. While you do not belong to any clan specifically, I thought I would be able to lend a hand in helping with your training schedule. While I cannot personally oversee your training due to the constraints of my job, I would like to provide you with a scroll that should help you with the basics. Physical exercises and basic information that would benefit you before and during the course of your education at the Ninja Academy are outlined in a scroll I have here for you. I will be more than happy to hand over the scrolls to you if you are willing to accept the responsibility of following the instructions within the scroll until completion. Everything within this scroll is compiled for your individual needs and as this training is exclusive to you, you mustn't share this information with anyone. The famed ninja clans of Konoha do not share their techniques with the others as the training and techniques are suited best for members of their respective clans. For the same reason, you must do the same. Fortunately for you, a training ground exists near your living quarters does it not?"

Naruto simply nodded, positively giddy with excitement and not trusting his voice at the moment. "Good", Hiruzen continued, "you are free to use that space but if any other ninja come and request use of the training ground you must vacate the area as they have priority. Is that understood Naruto-kun?" Another nod from Naruto signaled to the Hokage that the message had indeed been received and acknowledged. "Do you have any questions, Naruto-kun?"

"Did you really compile a unique training program just for me Hokage-jiji?" Naruto had reason to be critical. He had seen the amount of work that was required of the old man on a daily basis and compounding his pre-existing burden with another chore seemed unlikely. Hiruzen smiled before he replied, "I had some help on the matter from one of my ninja, I must admit." Naruto realized that he was not going to glean any information about the identity of his benefactor and so simply finished with a polite reply. "You bet I'll do it Hokage-jiji, but on one condition."

Hiruzen already knew of the nature of the condition without it being spoken but let the boy speak it nonetheless. "Please convey my thanks to your shinobi Hokage-jiji. I will make you both proud." Naruto finished as he got of his chair and grabbed the contents of the scroll reverently. Hiruzen had unsealed the contents of the scroll as Naruto stood up from his chair to reveal a simple scroll and a bokken with a simple guard. Naruto bowed to the old man before he took his leave, absent-mindedly signing the sheet presented to him by the Hokage's secretary.

As it grew quiet within the office, Hiruzen turned to a corner away from his desk and near the still ajar door and simply said, "So what do you think Yugao-chan?"

Yugao phased into view with her cat-patterned mask affixed to her face revealing none of her emotions from the corner of the office. "I have great expectations of him Hokage-sama. After all, he is part Uzumaki and part Namikaze. We all should." Hiruzen nodded and smiled as Yugao proceeded to walk towards the hallways outside the office, closing the door behind her.

'Indeed', Hiruzen thought. 'He is part Uzumaki and part Namikaze. It is just unfortunate that he does not realize the significance of the power that courses through his veins. One day however that will change, when he becomes Chuunin, I will tell him about his lineage as well as the beast that resides within him. For now, I am just glad he has one more person to look out after him. Thank you, Yugao-chan.'

Author's Note: If you are interested, the map I am using to describe Konoha is from: . /imgres?imgurl= mb/uploads/monthly_08_ &imgrefurl= . ?/topic/53580-naruto-rpg/&h=800&w=784&sz=524&tbnid=kguZF25Bz7Gr7M:&tbnh=90&tbnw=88&zoom=1&usg=_cSuNr9500oF14tjI7ca1LyNaeQY=&docid=F661TZEomteoHM&sa=X&ei=IXY8UZy7D9Cf7Aat2YDQAQ&ved=0CDIQ9QEwAA&dur=1360.


	3. Strong in Body and Strong in Mind

Sword Shadow

Chapter 3- Strong in Mind and Strong in Body

Author's Note: Upon the advice of one of my reviewers, I have altered my writing style to contain fewer large chunks of writing. Let me know if this makes my story less of an eyesore. As you can see some of my paragraphs are still large but you know what they say about old habits.

The advantage of residing in the Land of Fire was the relatively warm winter months. Konoha rarely saw snowfall and even the coldest of winter days did not require much warm clothing to be donned. On one of these days, Naruto was seen running laps around the training ground that was closest to his apartment – Training Ground Four, he later found out after a conversation with the Hokage. Naruto pleasantly recalled his day after he left the Hokage tower after receiving his training schedule.

_Naruto continued walking out of the Hokage tower with the same dazed look on his face as he cruised the streets of Konoha on autopilot. Instinct ensured that he did not bump into any of the pedestrians on the street, but the wide berth the citizens of Konoha gave him in public might have also attributed to his intrusion free travels. When Naruto was in such a state, his brain inevitably guided him to his safe haven – Ramen Ichiraku._

_Naruto climbed upon one of the counter stools still staring at the contents in his possession. Naruto had briefly opened the scroll after he left the Hokage Tower but the glare of the sun prevented him from reading any further. So he furled the scroll up and continued his examination of the bokken. The bokken intrigued him endlessly, the feel of the wooden sword in his hand, the grind of the guard against his thumb and index finger and the weight of the bokken itself were all new sensations to the boy._

_As Naruto sat on the counter stool, Ayame's frantically waving arm awoke him from his stupor. "Ayame-chan what are you doing here?" Naruto asked stupidly. Ayame's face was graced with a puzzled look as she saw Naruto turn his head from side to side as realization struck both their faces. Ayame realized Naruto was distracted by the items in his hand and did not enter the ramen stand consciously and Naruto finally got accustomed to his surroundings and realized where he was. _

"_So Naruto-kun, what's so interesting about that scroll that has gotten you in such a daze?" Ayame asked Naruto probingly._

"_Ayame-chan! I got this scroll and this bokken from the Hokage." Naruto realized that he would probably need help with reading the entire scroll and that Ayame had more than proven herself trustworthy to merit knowing the contents of the scroll and his future training. "It's a training regimen to help me prepare for the Ninja Academy. I looked at it briefly and I think I might need your help with reading its contents. Would you mind?" Naruto finished._

"_I'd be delighted to Naruto-kun. But let's not study on an empty stomach. First bowl is on the house. How you feeling about pork today?" Ayame replied, not even waiting for Naruto's response. Pork was always ok._

_As Ayame returned moments later with a steaming bowl of pork ramen, she found Naruto back to his usual demeanor – scroll and bokken lying to his right on the counter and chopsticks in hand. "Itadakimasu", said Naruto before he began devouring the contents of the bowl. Over the years, Ayame and Teuchi had conditioned Naruto to eat more humanely. However, this first bowl of ramen was attacked with a gusto that Ayame suspected had a lot to do with his eagerness to find out the specifics about his training. Naruto ordered one more portion of ramen before he and Ayame sat down to read the scroll._

_As there were no other customers in the ramen stand at the moment and her father was due to return shortly, Ayame did not think twice about helping Naruto right away. She occupied the seat on his right and unfurled the scroll that sat before her. She placed the scroll in front of Naruto who had moved the second bowl of ramen off to the other side. Naruto attempted to read the instructions listed in the scroll but was unsuccessful in completing the list. As Teuchi walked in, Naruto took a second attempt at deciphering the words. With a silent wave to the proprietor to acknowledge his presence, Naruto continued to read, this time with some guidance from Ayame. In less than half an hour, Naruto had finished reading the scroll's section about physical conditioning. Thanking Teuchi and, especially, Ayame, Naruto paid for his single bowl of ramen and took his leave from the ramen stand promising to return soon, as he still had to read the section about his education and he was acutely aware that the concerned section would require a lot more effort and time._

Pacing the periphery of the training field, Naruto reflected back onto the handwriting in the scroll. Naruto had seen both Ayame and Teuchi write the specials on the board at the ramen stand. The handwriting on the scroll was even more flowing and delicate than Ayame's handwriting – this led to Naruto to believe that the ninja that helped the Hokage was most likely a woman as well. Pleased with his deduction and taking one step closer to unmasking the identity of his benefactor, Naruto smiled to himself. He continued pacing himself to ensure he met his self-assigned goals. Today was stamina training and it was going to be a long day.

A few hours later an exhausted and sweat drenched Naruto returned to his apartment just as the sun was beginning to drop below the Hokage Monument, lending ominous shadows upon the faces carved into the mountain side, making the four faces look more menacing than they did during the day. A quick shower later, Naruto donned a fresh set of clothing and began cooking his supper – chicken and rice was on today's menu. He would need to supplement his diet better; the scroll had listed various foods for their specific constituents and the respective benefits of the same towards his physical development.

Naruto ate his dinner in a contemplative silence. While his dinners were always eaten in silence due to a lack of companionship, critical thinking and reflection were not often guests during meal times. Naruto had begun reading the second half of the scroll the Hokage had given him. He had had an easier time to read the contents than he previously thought. He had read over a third of the material – it was another long list, this time of books but unlike his physical training, these books were assigned a priority. Naruto would need to meet the Hokage again as he had no idea where to find these books.

As the training program did not list a schedule for his exercises and rather encouraged him to develop his own schedule, Naruto began his first day of training, the previous day, with speed training. Naruto had always been quite quick – he recalled several instances where he outran quite a few of the civilians in Konoha and those rare instances when he outpaced young ninja during his prankster escapades. Speed training had been unexpectedly brutal and Naruto had considered it his best attribute. Speed training involved several short sprints and running while making quick directional changes to help improve agility. Naruto had felt the strain in his legs at the end of the day and he had woken up with a dull throb in his calves in the morning.

The scroll had highly recommended taking regular breaks within the regimen to help recovery of muscles. Naruto had understood the logic behind that line of reasoning and decided he would have a break every third day. In addition, the scroll had emphasized flexibility and core fitness and suggested that both these aspects be worked on a daily basis. Core strengthening and flexibility was now included into Naruto's nightly ritual along with his dental hygiene. As Naruto finished his quota of sit-ups and stretching, he prepared himself for bed. He would visit the Hokage tomorrow about the books he would need.

The next morning Naruto awoke with a smile. He would be focusing on strength training today, which meant he would finally have a reason to swing the bokken he received from the Hokage. He decided he would break up his day into two segments – completing the physical exercises in the morning and the sword swinging after lunch. Just before noon, Naruto walked up towards the Hokage Tower, slightly apprehensive about the monumental reading list he was about to take on.

Waiting patiently until he was summoned inside the Hokage's office, Naruto idly spent the time looking around the office floor. It was completely unexceptional – the double doors that led to the Hokage's room were situated in the far end of the hallway and the only thing between the staircase and the double doors was the secretary's cubicle on the left hand side of the hallway, which was currently unoccupied. Naruto sat on a row of chairs that occupied the diagonal wall from the secretary's booth.

As the secretary walked out of the Hokage's office, she noticed Naruto sitting on one of the chairs and quickly popped back in. As she came back out again, she motioned to Naruto that the Hokage would see him now. As he walked past her cubicle, Naruto greeted her with a polite "Ohayo Mikoto-san". Mikoto Yamanaka, one the few people Naruto had seen with blonde hair, replied with an equally polite "Ohayo" and smiled at the boy as he past. As a former ninja and veteran of the Third Shinobi War, Mikoto was aware of Naruto's status as a jinchuriki and had a strong inkling about one half of his parentage – after all, very few people in Konoha's past who weren't Yamanakas had blonde hair.

Naruto opened the doors to the Hokage's office to see the old man waiting expectantly for him. Sarutobi eyed the scroll in Naruto's hand and realized that the boy must have questions regarding some of the material in it. "Ohayo, Naruto-kun. What brings you back? Did you miss this old man so much?" Sarutobi greeted.

"Mornin' Hokage-jiji. You wish Old Man. Mikoto-san told me you were missing all the ruckus I would cause pranking people and that I should come in to tell you not to worry and that I am still the same person" Naruto smartly countered.

Hiruzen smiled, shifting his many wrinkles as the contours of his face morphed into the happy expression. "I take it you have started on your training Naruto-kun?" asked Hiruzen.

Naruto beamed. Having a training schedule helped him two-fold. For one, it kept him out of trouble with the locals, as he did not interact with them much. In addition, training reduced the monotony of his days significantly – keeping his body active had the added bonus of keeping his mind focused. In response to the Hokage's question, Naruto replied, "I just started. I have had two sessions but I have a question about the reading material you've recommended. I am not sure where I can get these books from." Naruto handed the scroll over to the Hokage who looked over the list, whose eyes widened in realization as he recognized a slip in his proposed reading schedule for the boy.

"Naruto-kun, it seems I have made an oversight. These books can only be accessed by ninja or ninja-in-training and so you will only have access to them when you formally begin your education at the Ninja Academy. I recommend that you focus on your physical training for now. We can organize the books for you once the session starts in January, which is just over a month from now" Hiruzen said realizing his oversight the minute the problem was brought forth.

"Were you able to read everything by yourself?" Hiruzen asked, as he was well aware of Naruto's reading ability as it was outlined in the report Yugao presented.

Naruto scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. He had made a promise not to share his training details with anyone else and had almost immediately failed to do so. Nervously, Naruto replied "Ano, so you see…" Naruto faltered, embarrassed by the situation, "I don't read very well so I needed some help. I asked Ayame-chan from the ramen stand to help. She had been helping me with my reading before and it made sense that I would go to her about this. I know I said I would keep it a secret and I am really sorry I didn't but Ayame-chan is very trustworthy I assure you", Naruto pleaded for his innocence and Ayame's quality of character.

"I trust you Naruto-kun but let's make sure that we don't let anyone else know all right?" Hiruzen said. The Hokage's statement might have ended with a questioning tone but Naruto knew it was not a request. Naruto nodded to show his assent as he watched the Hokage alight from his chair, bones cracking in protest.

"Now then Naruto-kun. It is time for lunch and I feel like having barbeque today. Would you care to join me? My treat," said the Hokage as he stretched his arms and legs in preparation for the short walk to the restaurant. _I need to find a successor soon. I am getting too old for the hat, _mused Hiruzen silently.

Naruto flashed a large number of his teeth to show his acceptance of the invite for the meal and walked beside the Hokage matching the old man's longer stride with quicker strides of his own. The walk to the restaurant was conducted in silence, both men taking in the sights of the empty Ninja Academy and monolithic Hokage Monument. When Hiruzen and Naruto reached the restaurant, they were seated promptly in a corner of the restaurant, as per the Hokage's wishes, and left alone to decide what items they would like to order for the meal.

Naruto recognized a lot of the words on the menu as they were all listed on the scroll that the Hokage had given him. Briefly he wondered if all shinobi eat at this establishment – surely the food was nutritious and beneficial towards their own training. Naruto glanced around the restaurant to spot any shinobi but was only able to spot a large man and child from his position in the corner booth, with faint swirls seen on both men's cheeks.

Naruto turned back to face the Hokage and asked Naruto if he was ready to order. Naruto replied saying he would have the same thing as the old man. Moments later the waiter arrived, bowing respectfully to the Hokage and giving Naruto a short nod.

"We will have two portions of the 'Half and Half Platter' and two glasses of water" said Hiruzen in response to the unasked question. With a quick jot on the kitchen order token, the waiter retrieved the menus and returned into the kitchen, mentioning that the meals would arrive shortly.

Naruto noticed that the large man and child he had spotted earlier were walking over to the booth that the Hokage and himself had occupied.

"Ohayo, Hokage-sama. Ohayo, Naruto-kun. How are you today?" Choza Akimichi asked the seated members of the booth.

"Ohayo, Choza-san. I'm quite well. Hello, Choji-kun. How are you?" replied the Hokage, startling the young boy that stood behind Choza.

"V-very w-well Ho-Hokage-sama" Choji sputtered in response. It was unnerving to have the most powerful man in the village asking a boy with confidence issues a question in such a casual setting.

"Ano, Choza-san. How do you know my name? I don't recall meeting you before," questioned Naruto. Naruto was rightfully wary of people who pretended to know him. It was a common trick used to lure him towards a group of people, usually a group that meant him harm.

"You are right Naruto-kun, we haven't been formally introduced. However, as a member of the shinobi council, I am privy to a lot of information, such as that prank you pulled on the coffee shop on the main street just over a month ago." Choza replied. The smirk on his face grew larger as Naruto looked about sheepishly.

Hearing his father's statement, Choji shed all his previous shyness and exclaimed, "You are THAT Naruto?" pointing an accusatory finger at the boy in question. "But you are just my age, how did you pull off all those pranks? My father has told me quite a bit about you, you are quite brave Naruto-san" Choji finished.

Naruto's embarrassment grew further, indicated by the growing flush on his face. To further his embarrassment, the Hokage pitched in adding, "Looks like you have an admirer of your work, Naruto-kun". At this Choji's face flushed to match Naruto's, both boys thoroughly embarrassed while the elders laughed at their expense.

Choza spotted his takeaway order being prepared at the counter and decided to take his leave. "By your leave Hokage-sama" said the clan head as he bowed in respect. The Hokage returned the bow before bidding his good bye to the father and son duo. "Bye Naruto-san" said Choji, offering his hand to the startled Naruto. Naruto shook the proffered hand and nodded politely to the Akimichi clan head.

"That boy is really strong," said Naruto as he turned away from the retreating forms of the Akimichis to face the Hokage. "When I shook his hand I could feel the strength of his grip easily. How is he so strong? He can't be much older than I am" Naruto wondered loudly.

"The people of the Akimichi clan are known for their brute strength. Naruto-kun, remember I told you that members of clans teach their children well in advance of joining the Ninja Academy. I wouldn't be surprised if Choza taught his son a few clan techniques or enhanced his strength through training," replied Hiruzen to Naruto's ponderings.

"I know Hokage-jiji but it is one thing to hear it and quite the other to see it. That is someone I will be classmates with and he is already so strong," said Naruto, in awe of the effects of early guidance. "By the time we graduate I want to be as strong as him Hokage-jiji."

"That's quite the task you have set yourself Naruto. Akimichis are generally the strongest people in all of Konoha and rank highly in strength across the entire Elemental Continent. You should train to enhance your best attribute – your speed. Having said that, it would be unwise not to have some semblance of balance between all your physical attributes," Hiruzen sagely replied to Naruto.

At this point, the food had arrived and both men dug into their respective meals. _I will need to train hard. I have much catching up to do, _thought Naruto as he ate the rest of his meal in silencing, savoring the texture and taste of the meat and vegetables.

As Hiruzen and Naruto walked back towards the Hokage Tower, a comfortable silence was held between the two men. Hiruzen was pleased to note the positive effect of the day's meeting with the Akimichi on Naruto. The boy had become much more determined since that chance meeting to improve, as was evidenced by the look in his eye, and this proved vital to instill self-belief at this early stage in his training. In addition, Choji might prove to become a friend to Naruto when in the Academy, which would be invaluable in the near future to the boy's social development.

"This is where we part ways, Naruto-kun. Keep training hard and you will see the benefits of your results when you join the Academy. If you ever have any doubts, feel free to drop by at my office," said the Hokage as they reached the path in the road where they would split ways. Reaching into his robes, Hiruzen pulled out a book and handed it over to Naruto. "This is a remedial reading book. It is fairly simple to read and should help you significantly. Read this during your down time."

Naruto took the book from the Hokage's hand and said, "Thanks for the meal and the book, Hokage-jiji. I will train hard indeed," Naruto waved to the Hokage as he turned towards his apartment. After a short rest, he would begin his sword swinging.

It was well past dusk by the time Naruto had finished his sword swinging exercises, admittedly the delay was brought about as his proposed short rest turned into a fairly lengthy nap. That was all the doing of the scrumptious barbeque, he had had his fill and his content stomach had managed to subdue his brain and decided that a nap was in order. After a refreshing shower, Naruto consumed the left overs of his supper from the previous night, completed his nightly ritual and promptly fell asleep.

Waking up the quite late the following morning, Naruto was unhappy to find most of his torso in immense pain. Fortunately for him, there was no training scheduled for today. He would need to shop for groceries today, which meant he would need to go into the village center. As Naruto was making his way back from the grocers, he spotted Choji and his father Choza come out of the hospital. Choji had already seen Naruto and had come jogging towards the boy.

"Naruto-san, a few of us are planning to play Ninja in the park nearby in a little while. Would you care to join us?" said Choji, excited at the prospect of making a new friend and adding to his tiny friend circle.

Naruto was about to decline the offer on the account of having to store his groceries before they had been left out for too long when Choza beat him to the punch. "Naruto-kun, you can keep your groceries at our house while you play. We live right next to this park and it isn't an inconvenience at all," said the large man. Choza was well aware of his son's minute friend group and had recognized Choji's attempt to recruit more people into his circle. _Besides, this would benefit both of them. I can't imagine Naruto-kun has very many people his age he can call friends, _Choza thought to himself.

Delighted at the prospect of spending time with people his age, Naruto politely accepted the Akimichis' offer and followed them. Choji was ecstatic at this latest development and rambled on about the different people he was likely to meet at the park.

The park was situated roughly equidistant from the Nara, Akimichi and Yamanaka clan. Naruto had never been near the clan houses before but he did know it involved large families living together and so he expected a large house or a collection of houses. When Naruto arrived at the gates of the clan house, he was absolutely gob smacked at the sheer size of the property. It was unlike anything he had seen before. _This is someone's house?_ Naruto wondered. Choji turned around to see his new friend staring at the enormity of the complex, jaw half way down to meeting the floor.

"Naruto-san, is something wrong?" Choji asked. He was afraid that the boy would be intimidated by the size of the building. After their meeting the previous day, Choji had asked his father endless questions about Naruto as he had never seen the boy at the park before. Choji had learnt that Naruto had lived alone in the outskirts of the village, closer to the village walls in the Northeastern side of Konoha.

"Nothing Choji-san. I just… its HUGE!" Naruto exclaimed. "You live in there? Your family must be huge!" finished Naruto. Naruto quickly bit his tongue, he hadn't intended to make a comment about the size of the Akimichis but even he realized that his comment could be construed that way.

Fortunately Choji did not see it that way. He was acutely aware that for someone who lived alone for a large part of his life, that the lifestyle of a member of a clan must be completely alien. "We have quite a few people in the complex, but if you want to see a truly massive clan complex, you should check out the Nara clan. Maybe we will meet Shikamaru at the park today, he is a Nara you know?" Naruto didn't. In fact Naruto did not even know about the significance of hailing from the Nara clan but realized that as a member of the clan house, he must belong to a huge family as well.

After storing his groceries in the Akimichi household, Naruto followed Choji to the park, Choza following the two boys closely behind. Choji and Naruto asked each other many questions. Unfortunately for Choji, Naruto was unable to answer a lot of the questions he had had for him or was unwilling to answer a few. Nonetheless, Choji was not put off by Naruto's evasiveness and was happy to count Naruto as a friend. As they reached the park, Choji dragged a slightly startled Naruto towards the group of children that were just beginning to decide on the groups for the game.

Choji introduced Naruto to the other four people that were present at the park – Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Kiba Inuzuka and Sakura Haruno. After the introductions were made, the group split up into two teams and upon Ino's insistence, a second generation Ino-Shika-Cho was formed leaving Naruto, Kiba and Sakura to form the second team. The objective of the game was to sneak up on a member of the opposing team and tag them on their backs or tag them anywhere on their body with one of the three cardboard shuriken that Ino and Sakura had prepared for each of them.

As the children began to separate into their teams, the members of the original Ino-Shika-Cho group had gathered around a tree that offered them a large amount of shade. They always watched their respective children play from this spot, as it was far enough that they were not considered intrusive but close enough to intercept any trouble. Their children were all heirs to their respective clans and they were all acutely aware of the debacle that was the botched kidnapping of the Hinata Hyuga.

As they watched the new addition to their children's group being introduced, Inochi Yamanaka raised a solitary eyebrow as he identified the boy. As he turned to Choza, he asked, "Isn't that…"

"Yes, Naruto Uzumaki," finished Choza.

"You don't mean…" Inochi began again only to be cut off for a second time.

"Correct. His one and only son," finished Choza

"And is that a…" Inochi continued, determined to finish a sentence in this conversation for once.

"A bright orange jumpsuit. Saw him wearing it the other day as well. I have absolutely no idea where he got it. Should be banned for being an eyesore. Thing practically reflects the sunlight back into your eyes," finished Choza, beaming smile on his face as he knew what would follow shortly.

"God damn it Choza. You always do this!" Inochi hated when Choza would finish his sentences. Every so often, the large man would indulge in this pastime to annoy the mind walker in their group. Such was the intimate nature of the relationship between the three men that they were perfectly aware of the other's thoughts – this was the primary reason of the success of the famed trio.

Shikaku Nara laughed boisterously at this interaction. He absolutely loved it, as he knew the mind reader was furious at having his own mind read. However, Shikaku knew this was no technique, just plain good old intuition. "Should be interesting to see his prankster abilities in motion," finished the Nara clan head. His two friends merely nodded and watched as the two teams split off, proud to see the second generation of Ino-Shika-Cho in action.

Naruto and his team, who Kiba had determined should be called Team Kiba, split away from the Ino-Shika-Cho group into their designated space in the park and began the count till a hundred at which point the game would commence. As Sakura finished the count, she and Kiba split ways and began searching for their opponents. This confused Naruto as he was under the impression that they were a team and thus should be acting like one. Since this was his first time playing the game, Naruto decided he would hide in the shadows and try to determine if there were any effective strategies that could be employed to help him win this game.

As Naruto slunk around in the shadows in one of the many trees in the wooded part of the park, he heard Sakura's indignant cry. She had been tagged and if the obnoxiously shrill victory shout that had shortly pursued was any indication, he guessed that Ino had been the one to tag her out. _Two versus three now, _thought Naruto. Naruto quickly had to correct himself as Kiba took advantage of Ino's lapse in concentration during her victory dance and tagged her with a precisely thrown shuriken to the girl's side. Ino was delirious that Kiba had tagged her during her gloating session. "THAT'S NOT FAIR! I wasn't ready yet," said Ino, turning to her teammates in search of support. When she received nothing but looks of pity, she huffed and sat down next to Sakura, verbosely cursing the Inuzuka boy for his treachery with all the gusto and malice a nine-year old girl could muster.

Kiba had managed to disappear back into the wooded part of the park as the remnants of the Ino-Shika-Cho group redoubled their efforts to find their elusive opponents. Naruto spotted Kiba from his hiding place and quickly came up with a plan. He would bait Choji into giving chase and lead the larger boy towards Kiba's hiding place, from where Kiba could easily tag him, as Choji's attention would be on Naruto.

Naruto zipped past Choji as he goaded him to give chase. Choji was startled by the initial burst of pace but was determined to give chase. Naruto had separated Choji far away from Shikamaru that Choji was unable to heed his teammate's warning to give up the chase. Kiba was able to almost immediately latch onto his teammates plan and decided to hide himself better so that he did not sabotage the plan.

As soon as Naruto passed Kiba's hiding place, he slowed down fractionally to allow the Akimichi to catch up. Seeing the distance between himself and his target get smaller, Choji was filled with focus and his determination led to tunnel vision. All Choji could see was the back of Naruto getting larger and larger as he closed the distance between them. Choji had reduced the gap to a mere two seconds when he suddenly felt a palm on his back. Slowing his run, he turned to see Kiba standing at the very same spot he felt the contact with a cocky grin on his face.

"Got you," said Kiba, chopping his arm in the air to make a motion of a sword chopping through a body to indicate his victory over Choji. "Nice one Naruto-kun, now lets get Shikamaru and win this thing," finished the boy as he made his way towards the still dazed Akimichi and began plotting Shikamaru's eventual loss.

After having made their plan, Naruto and Kiba split off and began to search for Shikamaru. Shikamaru was acutely aware of the ploy to trap his friend as soon as he saw Naruto lead Choji away from him and towards the part of the park that was more densely packed with trees than the others.

The watchful eyes of the fathers in attendance had spotted Naruto's plan as soon as Kiba had.

"Impressive," said Shikaku. _Naruto had planned it to perfection from startling the Akimichi boy into giving chase to the slowing down towards the end to allow the boy to catch up and lose focus of his surroundings._

"I know I should be rooting for my boy, but Naruto-kun pulled of a great team move for a team that showed no indication of wanting to work together," said Choza.

"I do believe this is Naruto-kun's first time playing with the kids but he was able to come up with an effective plan that played to Kiba's strength – his speed," Inochi finished the analysis.

"Well, if they are going to work together as a team, let's see how they are going to outsmart Mr. Smarty-Pants out there," said Choza, anticipating the final showdown. Naruto's introduction to this group certainly made things more interesting. Usually, sessions of Ninja just involved Kiba bulldozing through the opposition with speed.

"I am interested too but Kiba should be smart enough to realize that Shikamaru won't fall for the same plan," said Shikaku. He was mightily proud of his son who showed significant intellect even at such a young age.

Naruto circled around the wooded area so as to allow himself to come out and attack Shikamaru from as close to his blind spot as possible. Shikamaru had wisely chosen to keep the open part of the park to his back and focus his energies on locating his opponents who were surely hiding in the wooded region.

Deciding that he was sufficiently close to his target, Naruto sprinted out of his hiding place as quickly and quietly as possible in an effort to tag Shikamaru. With seconds to spare, Shikamaru spotted a blur of orange appear in his peripheral vision and turned to face his opponent. Shikamaru was quite surprised to see the pace exhibited by the boy. Shikamaru had met almost all of the children his age that hailed from ninja backgrounds and had gauged some aspect of their skill whilst playing with them. Shikamaru had never seen Naruto before but was sure he was almost as fast as Kiba, the fastest member of their group, closely followed by the reclusive Sasuke Uchiha.

However, if Shikamaru was surprised by Naruto's pace he was absolutely caught off guard by his shuriken throwing skills. Naruto had all three of his cardboard shuriken to spare and launched them with all his might towards the Nara boy. By the time Shikamaru had turned to face his blonde opponent, Naruto had already thrown his shuriken. To his abject horror and Shikamaru's complete surprise, not a single one of the thrown projectiles landed within a five-foot radius of the intended target. Shikamaru quickly gathered his wits along with his own set of shuriken and launched them at the yellow haired boy. Naruto was able to dodge the first shuriken that was thrown at him but the remaining two shuriken struck the boy. Naruto had been tagged and was out of the game but Shikamaru quickly followed.

As soon as Shikamaru had thrown his own set of shuriken, Kiba had launched his remaining two towards the Nara boy who created a new blind spot that conveniently suited the Inuzuka. One of the shuriken struck Shikamaru on his back and the other grazed his right leg. Kiba, the sole survivor of the winning team, burst into victorious yelps as he ran towards Naruto to celebrate. Sakura quickly joined the impromptu celebrations and soon the six children huddled together near a tree close to the swing set to talk about their respective days.

"Playing the bait twice in two big plays. That Naruto sure is selfless. I wonder if Kiba realizes this," said Inochi.

"Naruto was able to eliminate the advantage of team-work by removing Choji from the equation and then set up Shikamaru's loss. Not bad. I just hope he comes up with better tactics when its time to be using actual shuriken. His kamikaze tactics might get him into a lot of trouble later on, like when it's time to use real shuriken and not ones made out of cardboard," added Shikaku.

"For now, its just good to know he will have a few good friends," finished Choza. The two other men nodded their heads in agreement as they watched Kiba re-enact the culmination of their recently finished game with some added theatrics.

As Kiba sat down after his reenactment, Shikamaru spoke up. "Naruto-san, how come I have never seen you at the park before? Most of the kids our age are usually here all the time."

"Ah, you see, I live very far from here and barely venture into this side of the village. To be honest, I didn't even know about this park. Rather, I did not know that this is where you guys come to play. In fact, if not for Choji-san here, I wouldn't have even been here," replied Naruto.

"Naruto-san, please call me Choji. The polite honorific sounds weird. No one in this group uses them," said Choji. Naruto nodded and said, "As long as you drop the honorific as well."

"You know Naruto, if you were able to throw those shuriken at me correctly, you would have gotten me tagged for sure. Quite frankly though, your throwing action made it seem like you've never thrown a cardboard or practice shuriken before. Do you not play with the other kids or your parents?" analyzed Shikamaru.

As the other four kids turned to Naruto for an answer, they were met with silence. Naruto looked around the faces of the children in the group and it was only when he reached Choji's face that he realized none of them knew of his situation. Choji had guessed from the information that he got from his father that Naruto was probably an orphan of civilian parents who were caught in the destruction wrought upon Konoha all those years ago during the Kyubi attack. It made sense to Choji as the timeline seemed to fit as well as the lack of adoption from any of the shinobi families that might have been close to Naruto's parents had they been ninja themselves.

Naruto turned his head downwards in sadness but decided to share his situation with these people. With any luck, these people would become friends of his – he had already considered the friendly Choji as a friend. "I live alone. I never knew my parents," Naruto said in a small voice.

Despite the whisper with which Naruto had conveyed the news, the stillness in the air ensured that all the children had heard him. They couldn't begin to comprehend the life that the blonde haired boy had had to live. Being alone from such a young age was an alien concept to them as four out of the five of them lived in huge clan houses surrounded by people and Sakura lived with her parents.

Shikamaru had always described Ino as a 'troublesome' girl but he was well aware that she was a very astute and kind person, even more so than his chubby friend when the situation demanded it.

"Naruto-kun, Shikamaru is right you know. You are quite terrible at throwing shuriken," said Ino in an attempt to change the subject. "I'll tell you what! Why don't you come over to my place tomorrow some time after lunch and I'll have made a full set of cardboard shuriken for you to practice with? That way, next time we play, you can get some people tagged out by yourself and Kiba can stop pretending he could have won today without his devious tactics and your help," Ino finished throwing a light elbow into the Inuzuka's gut for emphasis.

"Hey! That was low!" shouted Kiba, earning a chuckle from the collective as a small smile graced Naruto's countenance once again.

"All right kids. Its time to head home," shouted Choza from where he stood with his former teammates. The six children stood up, dusted themselves off and started walking towards the adults.

"Ino-chan. Shika. We are having dinner with the Akimichis today. Sakura-chan, Kiba-kun and Naruto-kun, would you like to join us?" Shikaku announced to the group.

"Naruto-kun, you have to come pick up your groceries anyway. I insist you stay for dinner. No one leaves the Akimichi gates twice without being fed even once," Choza said to Naruto.

"Yes. Naruto you have to come. My mother got out of the hospital last evening and said we haven't been taking care of ourselves and so she is cooking a huge meal today. You simply must come for dinner tonight. I won't be taking no for an answer," the younger Akimichi picked up from where his father left.

Naruto knew he had no say in the matter and decided to follow the group towards the Akimichi household. Naruto and Kiba walked side by side towards the Akimichi clan house. Kiba was quite intrigued by the new comer to their group. He was quite an enigma in his own ways. Kiba was considered fast by his group of friends and even the members of his clan for his age. However, he felt that Naruto had the potential to be even faster than him, if he was able to streamline his running action.

"Naruto, you know you are pretty fast right? When I saw you whoosh past the tree I was hiding when we baited Choji, you looked like an orange blur to me. Maybe we can have a race one day to see who is the fastest?" said Kiba.

"I'd like that Kiba. How about the next time we meet at the park?" Naruto told the feral looking boy.

"You're on, Naruto. I'm not going to go easy on you though. Maybe Sasuke can join us too. That way we can determine who is the fastest in our age," finished Kiba as they entered the Akimichi clan compound.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"Sasuke Uchiha. He is a good guy but over the last year he hasn't been coming to play a lot. In fact, I can't even remember the last time he came. He is almost as fast as I am but he can throw the shuriken way better. Shikamaru thinks he is the best all-rounder in our group. Obviously, Shikamaru is wrong. That honour belongs to me," replied Kiba, jerking a thumb towards his puffed out chest to emphasize the last point of his reply.

Entering the expansive Akimichi house, Naruto was shocked to see the flurry of activity in the kitchen that he could spot through the open door. Dinner was a quiet affair for Naruto barring the few times he dined at Ramen Ichiraku for the late meal. Today however, Naruto was to be treated to a meal and company like nothing he had experienced in his short nine years. Deciding the least he could do was offer some help, Naruto entered the kitchen and walked up to the three ladies who were in charge of feeding today's gathering.

"Ohayo, Akichimi-san, Yamanaka-san and Nara-san. Would you like some help in the kitchen? Or I could help set up the table if you would like?" offered Naruto, while bowing to each of the mentioned women in turn. Naruto had accurately guessed that the large woman was most likely Choji's mother due certain similarities in their features and the dark haired woman was more likely to be Shikamaru's mother leaving, by the method of elimination, the regal looking lady with brown hair to be Ino's mother – though he did expect her to have blonde hair like her daughter and husband as well.

"Ohayo, Naruto-kun. You're so sweet for offering. We don't need help right now but we'll call all the kids in when its time to set up the table. Why don't you join the kids until then?" replied Yuuhi Akimichi in response to Naruto's offer.

"All right then. Thanks for the invite Akimichi-san," said Naruto as he left the kitchen to join his newly found friends in the central garden of the house.

"Oh my, if you remove the whiskers he is a splitting image of the Yondaime, don't you think?" asked Miwa Nara.

"I wonder if he will grow up to be as handsome as his father," Suzuki Yamanaka said wistfully.

The three women looked at each and burst out into a fit of giggles as they returned to their cooking.

Several moments later, the bellowing voice of Choza called for the children to come in and help set up the table. Within minutes, the six adults and six children were seated at the large table, various discussions breaking about through the dinner party.

Naruto could honestly say that today was the best day of his life. He had made friends, who weren't prejudiced against him for an unknown reason and met adults who seemed to genuinely care for him. As a bonus, the food they had was absolutely delicious.

As dinner was finished, the men offered up to clean the table and so the children headed back to their spot in the garden to talk again.

"Oh man, I can't wait to start at the Academy next year and finally start learning some awesome new jutsu! Right now, my mom refuses to teach Akamaru and me any new jutsu until we train in the basics 'with more discipline'" said Kiba, adopting the tone of his mother for the last bit of his comment.

Once again, Naruto felt like he was missing some vital information and asked Kiba who Akamaru is.

"Akamaru is my companion. When you are part of the Inuzuka clan, each of us gets a companion dog with which we train and fight. He isn't with me today, as he has to train with the older dogs in the clan. Hopefully, you can see him next time we meet up," replied Kiba.

"Aka-chan is just the cutest, Naruto-kun," squealed Sakura. "Nothing like his master," added Sakura to tease the Inuzuka in their group.

Realization struck Naruto just a short while later. Kiba was joining the Academy next year, the same year that Naruto would be joining. "Kiba, you are going to be starting at the Academy in January too?" asked Naruto.

"We all are starting next year. You said too, does that mean you will be part of our year at the Academy as well Naruto?" Shikamaru asked Naruto.

"Whoa! All of you will be joining? That's great. I am going to be part of the same year as you guys. Yatta!" Naruto exclaimed. He was ecstatic at the realization that not only would he be able to join the Ninja Academy in a few short weeks, but he would also be joining with the few friends he had made. This was shaping up to be the greatest day ever.

As everyone realized they would have a new future classmate in Naruto, they bombarded him with a myriad of questions as they spent the rest of their time at the Akimichi house learning more about the boy who in turn learnt much about his five friends.

As the time to leave approached, Naruto had run into the Akimichi household as everyone exchanged good byes to grab his groceries before he departed with the Yamanakas. Kiba, Sakura and the Naras headed towards their respective houses while the Yamanakas and Naruto walked together until the Yamanaka clan estate, cutting through the park they had played in earlier in the day to save time.

As Naruto bid farewell to the elder Yamanakas, Ino shouted out to Naruto reminding him to come over to the flower shop near the clan house to pick up the practice shuriken. Smiling politely and nodding his assent, Naruto waved a final goodbye to the exuberant Ino as he headed towards his apartment.

Naruto walked down the main streets in high spirits. Today had been fantastic and he owed it all to the kind-hearted Choji. Choji's invitation to the game of Ninja at the park had led to his meeting with his future classmates and friends. He would try to return the favor somehow, he owed the boy that much.

Naruto reached his apartment without incident and put his groceries away. After finishing his exercises and stretches, he climbed into bed. Naruto pulled out the remedial reading book that the Hokage had provided him and began reading, the words on the book illuminated by the moonlight that streaked through the window above his bed. Eyelids growing heavy from the exhaustive day and the light reading, fell into a peaceful doze.

That's it for Chapter 3. I am well aware that plot progression so far has been very slow. But I assure you that all the events and details listed so far have significant impact on the story in its later stages. So please bare with my writing style and me. This chapter took forever to write as it is almost twice as big as the previous two combined.

I do hope you've enjoyed it.

WotS


	4. Naruto Uzumaki - Ninja Candidate

Sword Shadow

Chapter 4 – Naruto Uzumaki – Ninja Candidate

With the new set of cardboard shuriken he had received from Ino, Naruto was able to supplement his training program further. However, it seemed that regardless of his best efforts, his aim with the shuriken could simply not improve. Practicing out in the training field, Naruto quickly realized that for an amateur like him, shuriken practice with fragile and lightweight cardboard shuriken was not meant for the outdoors and so he set up several targets in various parts of his house. Every time Naruto would enter a different room in his house, he would pick up a shuriken and 'attack' one of the targets, Naruto was never once able to hit a target from a distance of five feet or more.

The New Year rolled in alongside a chilly breeze from the Northwest and Naruto had met his five friends regularly since his fateful meeting with them in the park all those days ago. As promised, Naruto had had his race with Kiba. However, he had yet to be introduced to the elusive Sasuke and so the race was just between the two boys. Kiba had won the race by a significant margin.

Despite the fact that it could potentially hurt his position as the fastest in the group, Kiba promised Naruto that he would train the orange-clad boy in a running style to make his own more efficient. This meant Naruto now had two 'training' sessions in speed, one with Kiba out in the park, and one in secret in the training ground on the occasions that it was unoccupied.

A week before the Academy was scheduled to restart for the new academic year; Naruto was summoned to meet the Hokage. After being announced by the receptionist, Mikoto-san, Naruto walked in to meet the aging Hokage.

"Ohayo Naruto. Come on in. I have something important to tell you," Hiruzen greeted the young boy.

Naruto waved back in greeting and he plopped himself down into one the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk. Elbows resting on his thighs and head supported in his palms, Naruto leaned forward in his chair to listen to what the old man had to say.

"What I have to say today might be hard for you to digest, but know that I only have your best interest at heart. I know it's a belief you have held favorably for a long amount of time, however, you have been thoroughly misled on the matter. To be honest, I take quite the amount of blame concerning this upon myself. I should have told you earlier. I should have had faith in you – faith that you are mature enough to handle the truth without going off the rails," Hiruzen told the boy with a poker face so good that Naruto did not have a single idea what was going on.

Curious about what the Hokage was about to divulge, Naruto leaned forward. This was important news and he did not want to miss a word of it.

"Naruto," continued the Hokage, "orange just isn't your color."

Naruto almost fell off his chair only to catch himself before he managed to embarrass himself. "WHAT? Are you kidding me Old Man? I thought this was something important. Hokage-jiji, you got me so curious, and for what? For wearing orange?" shouted Naruto pointing an accusatory finger at the Hokage.

The Hokage laughed boisterously and eventually calmed down, wheezing to a stop. "It's about time I got one on you. With all your damn pranks, I sure as hell can afford myself this luxury."

Naruto had nothing to say in response as the Hokage had made a good point. Deciding it was time to change the subject, Naruto sputtered a response. "I am sure you didn't call me in just to make fun of my fashion sense, Hokage-jiji."

"Well I called you in to discuss something that is quite pertinent to your choice of attire. As Konoha has quite a few shinobi of its own, I am sure you have seen at least a few of them," Hiruzen told the boy with a serious expression on his face. Hiruzen continued with his point after seeing Naruto nod in confirmation. "Have you ever seen a shinobi in such a bright color before?"

"I… once… No. No, I haven't," replied Naruto, understanding the true reason the Hokage had summoned him this morning.

"My ninja are required to go on several dangerous missions. While I cannot explicitly tell them what to wear, I would rest easy when I know that they are taking every precaution to finish the mission as safely as possible. Some missions require shinobi to sneak into foreign countries. Can you imagine how long a bright orange-clad ninja would last on the barren terrain of Iwa?" Hiruzen finished, letting his point sink in. "While you won't be going on any missions until after you graduate and are unlikely to leave the country for months even after that, I strongly believe you should start consider this an aspect of your new shinobi life."

"I see your point. I do. The problem is, well, I can't quite afford anything else. Even if its just Ninja Academy and I won't be doing anything scary, I would like to dress like a ninja, but I can only change my wardrobe when I pick up some ninja missions and get paid for them", said Naruto, acutely aware that in his current state of dress, he would not make it very far in Iwa at all.

"Well, that's because you haven't factored in a couple of things. Since you are going to be a student at the Ninja Academy, you will need quite a few supplies on a more regular basis and so I plan to increase your monthly allowance until the time you graduate from the Academy. Also, I have been slightly late to give you this, but I do believe I owe you a New Year's gift," Hiruzen told the boy with a sparkle in his eye. The amount he had decided to give Naruto should cover all his basic requirements and then some.

As Hiruzen pushed out a red envelope towards the him, Naruto could only look down at the floor trying his hardest not to let the tears fall. The Old Man had been the nicest person to him and he was now going out of his way to help him further. Determined not to let the tears that threated to fall be seen, Naruto took the envelope from the Hokage, bowed low and yelled in proclamation, "I am going to be your best ninja Hokage-sama." Turning around without notice, Naruto ran out of the office and into his apartment without pause.

A week later, Naruto headed out to begin his life as a student at the Ninja Academy. Naruto had decided to outfit himself in a deep red t-shirt and a pair of black shorts. Naruto had decided not to spend all the money he received at once, saving some of the money for a rainy day. He would need to replace the clothing as he grew. In addition, Naruto had purchased a pair of black ninja sandals that were recommended to him by one of the clerks at the store as the footwear that was previously on his feet looked worn down past the soles.

Excited at the prospect of officially starting on his path towards being a ninja, Naruto reached the Academy well in advance of the opening hour. He spotted only one other person on the Academy grounds – a boy with black hair and equally dark eyes with a blue t-shirt and a pair of white shorts. Naruto had never seen the boy before and considering his age, Naruto found it peculiar, as he had met and seen a lot of people since he joined his friends at the park regularly.

As the minutes passed by, Naruto noticed that the slow trickle of people who had come into the Academy grounds had accumulated to form a throng of people that started at the gates and continued into well into the training field situated behind a few of the buildings. From within this group, Ino and her parents had spotted Naruto in his lonesome and decided to keep him company until it was time to start classes.

"Ohayo Naruto-kun," Ino called out as she darted towards the blond boy. Taking an appraising step back after hugging the boy, she said, "I honestly cannot complain about the lack of light reflecting from your body. You look much better in this."

By this time, Inochi and Suzuki had joined the children and the four of them made polite small talk to pass the time. Soon, Kiba and Akamaru, Sakura and her mother, Choji and his parents and Shikamaru and his mother had joined in the group. As the nerves abated, conversation quickly picked up an excited tone about the immediate future of the children in the group with the two clan heads contributing stories from their own days at the Academy.

As the bell rang signifying it was time for the children to enter their classrooms, the children split from the adults after their respective goodbyes and headed for the large building that housed their classrooms.

As Naruto and his friends seated himself amongst the numerous other students in his class, he realized that the raven-haired boy he had spotted earlier was a member of their class as well. Naruto lazily let his eyes roam across the classroom and he soon spotted Ino and Sakura sitting by each other a row ahead on the other side of the classroom. As he did not recognize any one else from his seat, as he was sitting with Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji in the row of benches furthest from the writing board, he quickly followed Shikamaru's lead and rested his head on the table. Choji, he noticed, was trying to make conversation with the black-haired boy from before while Kiba was talking to a spiky-haired boy who wore dark glasses.

Soon, a young man with a scar across his nose and a Konoha hitate walked in and announced himself to the class, "My name is Iruka Umino and you can call me Iruka-sensei. I will be your teacher for the next 3 years.


	5. Safety from the Numbers

Sword Shadow

Chapter 5 – Safety from the Numbers

The first two and a half years of academy flew past for the now eleven-year old Naruto and his friends, which now broadened to include the weirdly shy Hinata Hyuga, the puzzling Shino Aburame and the perennially sulking Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto was able to keep pace with Kiba easily and on occasion beat him in a foot race but on the few occasions he ran against Sasuke he was never once able to beat the raven-haired boy.

Naruto still continued his training in secret but joined his friends in the park as often as he could. However, with his friends being whisked away by their parents for private training of their own and Naruto's first steps into learning kenjutsu forms, the amount of time he spent with them had drastically reduced.

It had been a while since everyone had been able to meet together and Choji and Ino had managed to convince the entire group that they should all meet up to celebrate the large boy's birthday at the barbeque restaurant. Naruto was to pick up Ino after her shift at the flower shop and then head over to the restaurant together. As he left his room, he spied the bokken lying by his door, which triggered a memory of his first encounter with his kenjutsu master.

_The academic year was split mid way to allow the students to recuperate a little – recharge their batteries so to speak. The teachers however, planned the break, as it was close to impossible to maintain the focus of a bunch of restless pre-teens during the very warm summer months. _

_During the break of his second year at the academy, Naruto was able to spend more time training than he was during the academic year. It was during one of his strength training sessions that he had first met her. She had merely introduced her as 'Cat', a codename that fit well with the designs on her mask. Naruto knew almost instantaneously that he was in the presence of the person that formulated his training regimen with the approval of the Hokage. _

_She was soft spoken and introduced her self as the person who would instruct Naruto in the art of swordsmanship, if he chose to accept her tutelage. Naruto was ecstatic, but as it was late at night, he decided to curb his enthusiasm and reply with a simple "Hai". _

"_Naruto-kun, as of now, I am unable to reveal my identity to you but know that I care for your safety. I have been watching your progress in your training and have been most impressed. Maybe one day, we can also discuss some of the material you have covered in the books I prescribed for you," Cat told Naruto, turning off her voice modifying switch in her mask, lest she intimidate the boy unnecessarily._

"_Konoha doesn't have very many sword users, the flash and appeal of ninjutsu sway a lot of young ninja away from the way of the sword. I would like to mold you into a fine shinobi whose skill with the sword is unparalleled in this nation. What do you have to say, Naruto?" _

_Naruto was well aware that his instructor-to-be was a member of the elite ANBU division of Konoha's shinobi, evidenced by the choice of armor and mask. Assuming she would prefer a more serious approach to the matter, he replied as professionally as an out-of-breath twelve-year-old boy covered in sweat and grime could. "It would be my honor, Cat-sempai."_

_Cat laughed at the young boy's antics. She had watched Naruto interact with the Hokage and those of his age, and she was acutely aware that this was uncharacteristic behavior for the boy. "You don't need to be so formal with me, Naruto. But know that I am quite a strict taskmaster."_

_Smiling at having established an easy relationship with his masked instructor, Naruto fell back into a relaxed stance. He wasn't sure about how well he would be with the sword but he was extremely comfortable with his bokken and was eager to learn more about using swords._

"_Unfortunately, my duty to the Hokage and the village comes first and I will often be on missions. When I have the time, I shall send you a message and we shall meet at a suitable training ground. As you can imagine, we can only train at night to ensure my involvement in your development is unnoticed. Wait for my next message and until then keep training your body and mind," Yugao explained to the boy as she disappeared in a leaf shunshin._

Naruto's covert training sessions with Cat always left him exhausted. He would find little notes slid under his doorway after he returned from classes at the Academy instructing him of the when and the where of his clandestine meetings. It had been just under a year since Naruto was introduced to the various forms and stances of kenjutsu. The rigid rules of kenjutsu made it counter-intuitive and difficult for Naruto to adopt but he managed to make steady progress. In the few friendlies that took place between master and student, Naruto had never been able to land a blow on any part of Cat. However, that was to be expected – she was ANBU and he was still in the Academy.

Whilst reminiscing about the past on the way to pick up Ino, Naruto bumped into a large burly man who had just stepped out of one of the taverns. "Watch it punk!" said the man, the stench of alcohol reaching Naruto and making him crinkle his nose in reaction.

"Oh! I am sorry. I wasn't paying attention," Naruto replied with a bow.

Recognizing the mop of spiky blonde hair, the man took a large swing at the lowered head and clobbered the boy, sending him face first to meet the paved street. Naruto clutched his head in defense but left his side open to attack and the man took full advantage and proceeded to kick the boy to his heart's content.

The relentless attack finally culminated when an off-duty ninja spotted the attack as he turned into the street that would lead him to the same tavern as the one from which Naruto's attacker had previously exited. The ninja attacked the large man and warned him to leave immediately under threat of action.

As Naruto sat up on the floor to face his savior, the ninja told the boy to wait outside the bar for a minute. Feeling no malice from his protector, Naruto complied and a minute later, the ninja returned with a glass of water in his hand.

"Are you all right?" asked the ninja to the still seated boy. "Oh. Stupid question. Do you think you have any broken bones?"

As Naruto got off the street to stand up, a sharp wave of pain emanated from his right side, suggesting that the man had kicked him hard enough to break a rib or two.

"I'll be fine soon enough," said Naruto to the yet-to-be identified ninja. It was true, Naruto healed from a myriad of injuries during his short life with a miraculous rate of recovery.

Consuming the proffered water, Naruto returned the glass to the ninja. "Thank you ninja-san. I must be on my way, I have to meet some friends."

Naruto walked away from the tavern and proceeded towards the Yamanaka flower shop, favoring his right side even as he felt the pain reduce with each passing step.

'_A glass of water is the least I could do for you Naruto-kun,'_ thought the masked ninja with his hitate covering his left eye. Mood fouled, he forewent his tavern visit and decided to call it an early night.

Naruto reached the flower shop just as Ino finished preparing the last bouquet for a familiar looking couple. As Naruto entered the shop, the ringing of the bell attracted the attention of the Ino towards the ragged looking blond.

"Naruto! I am just finishing up here. What happened? You are covered in dust. Well, just clear up your face at the basin in the corner. Just give me a bit to change out of these clothes and I will be right with you," Ino said without pause hurrying towards her house missing her friend's true state of affairs in her haste to prepare for the party.

As Naruto washed his face and returned to the counter, he noticed that the couple from earlier were Shikamaru's parents and that they were still at the shop.

"Hello Nara-san," said Naruto meekly, turning his face away when he noticed the questioning glance that was thrown his way courtesy of both parents.

Unable to bear the scrutiny anymore, Naruto came up with a weak lie. "You see, I was on my way here, and I was day-dreaming and walked into a lamp post. Ha-ha, clumsy me."

Shikaku was displeased and replied in kind. "Naruto, I am a ninja and my whole career is based on deception. Please don't insult my intelligence. If you ran into a post why are you favoring your right side? No one walks into a post sideways."

Hearing Ino shout out a goodbye to her mother and the concern in Miwa's eyes, Naruto decided to tell the Naras the truth. "All right. I was on my way here and I wasn't paying attention and ran into a drunk. He punched and kicked me. Please don't tell anyone this, especially Ino. She always fusses over everyone. If she finds out, the whole mood of the party will turn sour and we haven't met in so long and I don't want to be the reason this party doesn't go well. Please," Naruto replied so quickly that the Naras had a difficult time catching all the words he said.

The Naras were dumbfounded and had nothing to say, but their expressive eyes told Naruto that their concern was legitimate. At that very moment, Ino ran past the Naras, pulled on Naruto's arm and dragged him along with her. "Come on Naruto, its time to go. We are late already."

Miwa turned to Shikaku and said, "Honey, we have to do something for him. What happened to him shouldn't be happening to anyone, especially someone of his age. What if it was Shika-kun?"

"I know what we need to do, but first we need to talk to Shika about it too. This will change his life as well. I am sure he wont have problem and then I will petition the council after I consult with the Hokage," Shikaku told his wife, eliciting a small smile from her. It was all her could do for her for now.

The party was a roaring success with Sasuke, Shino and Hinata all coming over to the restaurant to celebrate Choji's birthday. As the group broke up eventually and everyone headed their separate ways, Shikamaru was the only person who noticed that Naruto was far more subdued today than he would have been normally.

Initially, Shikamaru chalked it down to a matter of fatigue as a result of Naruto's own training. Naruto's rate of improvement was quite sensational and he knew that the extra speed and lithe physique did not come from just training sessions with Kiba. It was only when Naruto left the room to head to the restroom that Shikamaru realized that his mannerisms was a consequence of an injury and not fatigue. _Still, he could have picked up the injury while training. If he is training without supervision, it is quite likely to happen after all, _Shikamaru thought to himself.

When Shikamaru returned home late that night, he was surprised to see his parents not only awake but waiting for him. _Surely I couldn't be in trouble._ Curious, Shikamaru sat down on one of the empty couches and let his parents take the lead in their own time.

"Ohayo, Shika-kun. How was the birthday celebration?" Miwa asked her son.

"It was all right. Mom, Dad, I know this isn't why you are still up. Is everything all right?" Shikamaru asked his parents.

Shikaku smiled a melancholic smile, his son was sharp as ever – he would be a great ninja and a valuable asset to Konoha in the future. "Fair enough. It's too late in the night to be beating around the bush. Son, we are concerned about Naruto-kun's safety and well-being and as such wish to adopt him into the family to protect him better," Shikaku told his son.

To his credit, Shikamaru didn't fall of his seat. For that matter, he barely showed any change in expression. _Well, if he is too lazy to become a good ninja, at the very least he can become a great poker player,_ Shikaku thought to himself, momentarily distracting himself from the serious situation at hand.

"You want to know if I would be comfortable with having an adopted brother?" Shikamaru asked his parents rhetorically. "I can see why you are concerned for his safety. I saw him nursing quite an injury just today, I take it you know more about it than I do?" questioned the Nara heir. The silence in the air and the concerned look in his mother's eyes provided an answer in and of itself. "I like him. He is a good kid and quite clever in his own ways. Besides, no one our age should be living alone. I proud of you guys for taking the initiative," Shikamaru finished.

The elation from his parents was more than worth the oncoming hassles of sharing a house with the loud blond. "Well, there is a lot of red-tape and loop-holes to jump through to successfully adopt him. Even if he doesn't know it yet, Naruto is quite special but we aren't going to give up without one hell of a fight," Shikaku told his son as his wife went to embrace him.

"Well, if all goes well, the Nara compound is going to get a lot noisier. There goes the neighborhood," Shikamaru said with a sarcastic roll of his eyes.

The light laughter that ensued lifted the spirits and the mood of the Naras and they headed towards their respective bedrooms. As Shikamaru reached the stairs, he turned around and asked, "Naruto didn't mention anything today. I take it you haven't told him yet?"

"No, not yet. We can tell him tomorrow. After all, he might not even want to be adopted after living alone for so long," Shikaku replied to his son's question.

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Shikamaru climbed the stairs towards his bedroom, merely nodding once to acknowledge that he had heard his father's response.

The following day, Shikaku and Miwa approached the Hokage with their plan to adopt Naruto into their family.

"Miwa-chan, I appreciate your concern but the council will never let the jinchuriki of the Kyubi be adopted into any clan of Konoha. It would upset the balance of power between the existing clans. You would never get a majority ruling in your favor even with the backing of the Akimichi and Yamanaka clans," Hiruzen did not want to crush the possibility of offering Naruto a stable life but as Hokage he had to appear just and fair.

"What if we offer him a place to stay?" Shikaku said, confusing the Hokage about what he meant. "I mean to say, what if we adopt Naruto into the family but not into the clan. He would remain an Uzumaki but he would live with us."

"That might work, we could use the argument of mental stability and loyalty to convince that scheming war hawk that if and when Naruto would learn of the Kyubi, it would be favorable for us to have him in a stable environment. I don't like it though. I feel like I am lying to myself," Hiruzen thought out loudly.

"Very well, let us see what Naruto thinks of the idea and if he is open to the adoption, then we can go ahead," Hiruzen finished, letting out a loud sigh to emphasize his uneasiness with the political maneuvering that would follow in the weeks, if not months, to come considering Naruto's status as a jinchuriki.

The only other time adoption for Naruto had come into question was in the immediate aftermath of his birth and Hiruzen had denied permission as he was skeptical of the motives of the Uchiha clan, the ones that offered to take Naruto in.

A few days later, Naruto was summoned to the Hokage's office and for the first time in his summons, a time was specified. Naruto thought it strange but made sure to plan his training so that he would be free when requested.

When Naruto arrived at the specified time, he was pleasantly surprised to find Shikamaru there as well. He had not met his friend since Choji's birthday party and was about to talk to him when he noticed the other two adults in the room – Miwa and Shikaku Nara.

Bowing politely to them in greeting, Naruto turned to the Hokage in askance, "What's going on Old Man?" Instead of a reply from the Hokage, Naruto heard a startled gasp from Miwa and an amused chuckle from Shikaku.

Waving it off, Hiruzen got right to the reason behind this meeting. "Naruto-kun, the Naras and I want to take some more measures towards your safety and well being and they have requested to adopt you."

As the four heads in the room turned towards Naruto expectantly, all they were met with was silence. Naruto's face was quite unreadable. The lack of emotion almost made it seem that the boy's face had been frozen and was unable to muster any form of expression.

Naruto's turned his face towards the floor and the only indication that he was alive was the slight quivering of his shoulders. Since this was quite the big deal, no one decided to push him into giving an answer.

"I…. when I was in the orphanage… I heard that kids over the age of 6 don't usually get picked for adoption. I gave up… I mean… I am close to double that age now… I didn't think I'd ever have parents… my best shot for a family was going to be when I made one of my own", said Naruto, slight sobs racking his frame indicated by the increased quiver of his shoulders.

"I don't get it. Why now? Why not earlier? I mean, I have been alone for ELEVEN YEARS. You saw me that day at the flower shop and decided on a whim? I don't want pity. I have gone on just fine ignoring the hate in everyone's eyes," finished Naruto, turning to the elder Naras, awaiting a reply.

Miwa spoke up, "Naruto-kun, you might not believe it but there are a lot of people who genuinely care for you. More so than you know. Forget the idiots in the village. We want to give you a family and a home. We want to keep you safe. You are quite special to us."

Silence ensued again and this time it lasted significantly longer than the first. Still, no one prodded the boy. As the sobs subdued, Naruto lifted his head slowly, exposing the wet carpet spots indicating the tears that escaped his eyes. Naruto turned to Shikamaru and asked, "So Shikamaru, when do I get to call you 'Shik-ani'?"

With a characteristic 'tsk' and a mutter of "troublesome", Shikamaru placed his hand on Naruto's right shoulder and gave him a smile.

Miwa was ecstatic and hugged the boy from behind, embracing both Naruto and Shikamaru in the process, resulting in the latter boy squirming in her embrace, attempting to wriggle out. Shikamaru's futile attempts resulted in laughter from the majority of the group and helped to reduce the anxiety in the room.

Hiruzen cleared his throat in order to direct attention towards himself and Naruto looked towards his Hokage. "Naruto-kun, you should know that there is a process involved in the adoption and it must be cleared with the shinobi council first. This means it could take time and the decision could swing either way. Therefore, until it is confirmed, I urge you, and Shikamaru, not to say anything to your friends or anyone for that matter."

Naruto looked dubious and voiced his concerns accordingly. "The council? None of the kids at the orphanage needed clearance from them. Why is it the case for my adoption?"

"As you will be a ninja of Konoha soon, there are some matters that need to be discussed," Hiruzen lied easily. It saddened him to deceive the boy but the Hokage did not feel that he was ready to know all the secrets about his past.

Naruto accepted what the Hokage had had to say as the truth and turned to face Shikaku, who had just moved to place his hand on the boy. "There is one thing you need to know Naruto-kun. To honor the memory of your biological parents, we would like you to keep your last name and not change it to Nara," finished the clan head of the shadow users. "You will have a house and a family in the future, but it is important not to forget your roots."

Shikamaru raised an intrigued eyebrow at this revelation, as he was not aware of this part of the plan. While the Nara name carried some weight around Konoha, surely an adoption into the clan as opposed to the house, as it were, would not be a big deal. However, he did not voice his opinion as his father's explanation regarding honoring Naruto's parents' memory made sense to him.

"I might not know them, but I am sure I would not want to forget them. I'll continue to be an Uzumaki," Naruto told Shikaku.

Hiruzen dismissed the two boys on the account of wanting to discuss the legal issues concerning the adoption. When the boys had left, the Hokage discussed their plans to convince the council to favor the adoption. As this was a newly conceived idea, there was not much to talk about and at its conclusion, Hiruzen decided to tell the Naras about Naruto's extra training.

"One of my ninja has been training Naruto in the art of kenjutsu. Assuming the adoption goes favorably, I would very much appreciate it if you would let the boy continue his studies. His instructor tells me he holds much promise," Hiruzen told the parents sat across the table from him.

"Of course Hokage-sama," Shikaku said whilst getting up. Miwa followed suit and the couple took their leave.

Ever since the Kyubi disaster, the only truly troublesome matter that the Hokage had had to deal with was the attempted Uchiha coup and the subsequent massacre that followed. Naruto's adoption had the potential to place itself right up there in his list of headaches.

Hiruzen was determined to fight for Naruto's well being but he was well aware that he was up against a massive hurdle. However, he would have support this time – the Naras, the Yamanakas, the Akimichis and possibly even the Inuzukas and Aburames would be favorable to the adoption. Things already looked promising in gaining a majority vote, but Danzo, Koharu and Homura posed a significant threat to his plans and he could ill afford to ignore their persuasive abilities.


	6. A Dangerous Game of Cat and Mouse

Sword Shadow

Chapter 6 – A Dangerous Game of Cat and Mouse

The tension in the council room was so thick on the day the Naras announced their plans to adopt Naruto Uzumaki, that Choza Akimichi could have sworn Danzo Shimura shot off an electric attack from his solitary eye only to be countered by a similar attack from his own shadow using friend. No progress was made on the subject matter and no opinions were swayed. The Naras vehemently decided to stick to their argument of protection for the boy while their opposition insisted that the balance of power between the clans would be thrown off.

Even with assurances that Naruto would not be a Nara and would continue being an Uzumaki, answerable only to his Hokage, the council was not fully convinced. However, the few people who were previously sitting on the fence and held sympathy for the boy's plight were now leaning in favor of the adoption.

With the lack of success and the certainty that the subject matter would be broached again in the next council meeting in two weeks' time, the meeting broke up before the hostility in the room escalated and translated to a course of action which would only bring about regret. Determined to bring the adoption to fruition, Shikaku and Hiruzen met often to formulate ways to convince the council to bring forth a favorable ruling. They worked tirelessly and often employed Choza's and Inochi's advice to help solve the issue at hand.

Misinformation was the deadliest tool in the ninja trade. A ninja misinformed about the strength and capabilities of his or her opponent was facing an uphill task before the mission even commenced. For sensitive black op missions such as the one Yugao was about to undertake, the ability to adapt once the lack of information was identified was often the difference between life and death.

Lying in her hospital bed, Yugao recalled the conversation she had with the Hokage but a week ago and the subsequent mission she was sent out on.

_Most ANBU black op missions were issued by the Hokage in person as sensitive information such as the mission parameters and targets could not be afforded a paper trail. As Yugao entered the Hokage office, she unfastened her cat-designed mask and stood at attention._

"_Cat, a certain business man in the Land of the Wave is causing a lot of trouble for their inhabitants. We believe that ridding this man from his position of power will allow Konoha a favorable standing with the people of the country. While their economic situation is deplorable, their geographical position puts them in quite an advantage. They are a common port for many trading ships. If you chose to accept, you will be required to kill Gato, the head of Gato Company," Hiruzen informed Yugao._

"_It shall be done, Hokage-sama," replied Yugao._

"_One more thing, the Naras wish to adopt Naruto into their family. He won't be a Nara but he will have a family and a home. What do you think?" Hiruzen questioned Yugao – curious to know what the kunoichi thought about the matter._

"_A stable house could do the boy wonders. Hopefully, some of that Nara calm will rub off on him. When he gets frustrated in our sessions, he forgets his training and starts attacking with reckless abandon. I can't see any harm done with the proposal. However, I can't imagine all of the shinobi council approves," said Yugao._

"_We shall see what happens. Know that while there is no formal timescale for your mission, the sooner you accomplish you objective the better," finished the Hokage. Hiruzen handed Yugao a small scroll. She opened the scroll, memorized the contents and proceeded to burn the scroll._

_Yugao placed the mask on her face again, bowed low and disappeared in a shunshin._

_As Yugao was leaving through the gates of Konoha, she took a detour to head towards Naruto's house and slid a note under his door, informing him that there would be no practice sessions for a while._

_The contents of the scroll had informed her that Gato had employed a few samurai bodyguards for protection. Yugao knew she could dispatch those men easily and then proceed with the assassination of the shipping magnate. In the cover of the night, Yugao proceeded to tree hop until she reached the border between the Fire Country and Wave Country._

_Hiding her armor and other ninja tools in her pack, Yugao donned civilian clothing and rented a hotel room in the Land of Waves. She would finish off the mission under the cover of the following night. The two-day journey to the border and the subsequent journey on foot to the Land of Waves meant Yugao reached her hotel late at night, three nights after her departure from Konoha._

_Using the daylight hours to recuperate her lost energy and strength, Yugao idly wondered what Naruto had been doing over the days of her absence. She admired the boy's work ethic – the results of which were clearly defined in his lithe physique and improved speed. However, he had much room for improvement in his sword techniques._

_Yugao waited until past midnight before she began her preliminary scouting of the premises. Her search revealed that there were three, hired ronin, as was outlined in the scroll she had burnt earlier. Satisfied with her search, Yugao slunk into the shadows and proceeded to make her way through to the room, which housed the sleeping Gato. _

_Making short work of the three ronin, Yugao made her way towards the room with an uneasy feeling. She couldn't shake the feeling of being watched and her paranoia served her well as she ducked at the opportune moment to avoid a thrown kunai from her blind spot._

_Quickly turning to face her attacker, Yugao cursed at the sight in front of her. A ninja was part of the protection detail as well – a former cloud shinobi if his scratched out hitate was anything to go by. _

_Cold steely eyes bored into Yugao's own brown orbs as both ninja prepared for battle. The tiny corridor they were situated in was inappropriate for the upcoming battle. The inevitable demolition that would follow could cause a cave in and result in Yugao causing harm to herself, even at the prospect of dealing a blow to her target. _

_Thinking quickly, Yugao threw a pair of kunai at her attacker who pulled out his sword to deflect the thrown projectiles with ease. Seeing her opponents sword drawn, Yugao was tempted to draw her own and the two commenced their deadly battle._

_As swords struck in mid-air, Yugao was acutely aware that her attacker was maneuvering her away from her target – however, she paid this no heed as she fully intended to return to the room once she dispatched of her current opponent. Entering the vast backyard of the compound, the battle picked up pace and vigor, as the two swordsman were afforded the luxury of space. _

_Yugao was mildly impressed with the cloud ninja's ability with the sword. He had managed to keep pace with the kunoichi with ease. Deciding to test her opponent further, Yugao decided to step things up a notch and gauge the former Cloud ninja's abilities further._

_The clashing of swords had alerted Gato of an intruder and he was proved correct when he heard the sound echo from his backyard. Gato quickly retreated to his panic room and commanded his bodyguards to aid in killing the intruder. When Gato got no response from them, he realized they were no longer among the living and hoped the expensive ninja that he hired would be sufficient for the job._

_The deadly dance between the Cloud ninja and Yugao continued, the only sound between the two coming from the moments in which their swords clanged against each other. Coming to a stalemate once again, the two ninja pushed off each other to gain some distance._

_For the first time in their encounter, the Cloud ninja spoke up. "You are very adept with the sword kunoichi-san."_

_Smirking behind her mask, Yugao replied, "Unfortunately, I can't seem to find much fault in your skill either nukenin-san."_

_As the short reprieve finished, the two ninja continued their battle of swords – ducking and slashing at each other to no avail. _

_Yugao finally created an opportunity for herself when she ducked underneath a horizontal slash and cut her attacker's ligaments in his right leg – causing a severe blow to the man's speed. As she rose up behind her attacker, she was caught off-guard when she heard a yell of "Cloud-style: Reverse Beheading". As Yugao turned in instinct, she noticed her attacker was in the process of finishing a spin, attempting to cut her head off in the process. Acting instinctively, Yugao put up her left arm in defense. However, the act was futile as the sword strike cut through the lightweight arm guards she had on and the sword slashed through the length of her arm, severing muscle and tendon asunder. _

_The two swordsmen were at an impasse. Yugao was bleeding profusely from her arm and needed to make a strategic retreat, lest she bleed to her death. She also knew that the damage caused to her opponent meant that he could not give chase. Consigned to the fact that her mission was a failure, she made a hasty retreat until the border of Konoha, making a quick detour only to stop off at her hotel room to pick up her pack, which contained the required first aid kit._

_Bandaging up the large wound, Yugao swallowed some blood replenishing pills and some soldier pills and made her way to Konoha as quickly as possible, ignoring the biting pain from her left arm._

_The journey back took Yugao half the time it took her to get to the Land of Waves, stopping twice – once to change her bandage and once to get some rest and add a fresh wrapping of her bandage._

_Reaching the gates of Konoha, Yugao was quickly ushered to the hospital for emergency treatment. _

Despite her best efforts, the wound she had sustained had still managed to become infected and the severity of the damage to her arm meant that she needed specialist help to aid in her recovery. The mission had taken four and a half days and she had spent the last 3 days in the hospital. As she recovered from her infection fairly quickly, the lack of sensation in her left arm was bothersome. Her sessions with the specialist yielded no results and she was doomed to countless sessions of physiotherapy until the muscles knitted themselves back together so that her arm would once again be functional.

After spending a week in the hospital, she was beginning to become frustrated. The Hokage had come to meet her so that she could get debriefed about the mission and while she knew he was disappointed at the outcome of the mission, he did not express his displeasure.

On the eight day, the Hokage, in the company of the ANBU commander Bear and the specialist doctor that had been tending to her over the past week, visited Yugao once again.

"Ohayo Yugao-chan. I come bearing good news and bad news. The good news is that you can be discharged today. However, you still have to schedule sessions with the doctor to aid your recovery. The bad news, and I tell you this after much discussion with Bear, is that we are going to suspend you from ANBU duties until you make a full recovery," the Hokage told Yugao, trying to break the news as gently as possible.

Yugao had come to expect this – not the date of her discharge but the fact that she would no longer be ANBU. ANBU ninja were the elite of the elite – requiring ninja to go on missions, which would be considered suicidal by others. As such, the ninja of the ANBU had to be the most skilled, as well as fully fit for duties. With her current lack of sensation in her left arm, Yugao left herself exposed to equally dangerous enemies, which could threaten the completion of the mission as well as her safety during a mission and the wellbeing of any comrades she would have.

Yugao tried to look brave in front of her Hokage and ANBU commander but with words escaping her, she managed a meek nod and turned her eyes away from the pair with a downcast look. The pair took their leave allowing the doctor to do one last check up before Yugao left the hospital. Satisfied that there were no further complications to his patient's condition, he took his leave as well – leaving the kunoichi to her thoughts.

Yugao was recruited into ANBU just as she had become a Jonin. Recognizing the opportunity presented to her, Yugao forewent her aspirations of being an instructor to serve in the prestigious ranks of ANBU.

Yugao was certain that she would be re-instated to her Jonin status after her discharge. The life of exciting missions already behind her and she had to forfeit her dreams of being a Jonin instructor for the upcoming batch of ninja as she had not put forth her name in the list of prospective instructors.

'_Damn it, if I had known then at least I could have been an instructor. Maybe, I could have taught Naruto-kun officially.' _Thinking about her charge, she idly wondered if she could still teach the boy outside of his own training with his Genin squad. As she thought about it, a smile came across her features for the first time since she found out about her dismissal from the ANBU corps. It wouldn't be a problem – he was still not going to be able to land a strike on her.

Before Yugao would have to surrender her ANBU mask, she was determined to meet Naruto one last time with it. She would need to tell the boy about her predicament and how it would affect him.

Meeting in the clearings of one of the training grounds, Naruto was anticipating a new lesson with his sensei. He had not had a lesson in well over a week and he did not want his limited skills to get rusty. Shadow practice could only go so far, a real opponent was needed to keep his skills sharp.

"Ohayo, Cat-sempai," Naruto said when he spotted his master leaning on one of the trees that shaped the clearing.

"Ohayo, Naruto-kun. I need to tell you something. I was assigned an ANBU mission and sustained an injury whilst in combat. As such, I have been suspended from the ANBU until I recover," Naruto was confused as to why his master was telling him this – would this mean that their sessions were going to stop? But he thoroughly enjoyed sword training. Was the injury so serious that his master could not be a ninja at all?

As the doubts plagued Naruto's mind, Yugao decided to clarify the matter. "I will still be teaching you. But now, I have no need for this mask."

The soft click indicating that Yugao was unfastening her mask focused Naruto's eyes, as he was now aware that he was about to see his master's face for the first time.

As the mask was removed, Naruto laid eyes on his sensei's face for the first time – the purple hair he had already seen, coupled with the brown eyes, pale complexion and lips accentuated by a deep red lipstick made Naruto think of only one thing – _she is cuter than Sakura-chan and Ino-chan._

Wondering where that comparison came from, Naruto quickly refocused himself and shot of a series of questions. "You said you were hurt sempai? Is the injury serious? Would you be taking a break from teaching?"

Laughing lightly, Yugao assured her protégé that her plans for him would not be affected by her injury. Upon further show of concern for her wellbeing from Naruto, Yugao became exasperated and disappeared from Naruto's view – only to reappear with her blade drawn out pointing towards the boy's back from her position behind him. "Just because I am hurt doesn't make me useless Naruto-kun, you would do well to remember that!"

With those last words, Naruto's latest session with his recently unmasked instructor began. The session was especially brutal and he was sure this was the case because Yugao wanted to prove the point she made in her last comment. When the session finally ended, Naruto thanked his sensei, "Thank you, Cat-sensei," Naruto finished with a bow.

"Not anymore. Without this mask, I am not Cat anymore. You can call me Yugao-sensei," replied the former ANBU ninja.

"Hai, Yugao-sensei," Naruto said, bowing down once again before he left the clearing, heading home for some well deserved rest and relaxation.

As the end of June rolled in, Hiruzen and Shikaku had been battling the non-committal fraction of the shinobi council tooth and nail to sway the required number of votes their way. With the knowledge that the Ino-Shika-Cho group would stick together through thick and thin and Hiruzen's support, Shikaku could not see them losing this vote but it would be unwise to count his chickens before they hatched.

Despite Danzo's explicit distain for the adoption of Naruto Uzumaki by Shikaku and Miwa Nara, the motion passed favorably. Naruto was called into the Hokage tower along with Shikamaru and Miwa.

Naruto was unaware of the results of the adoption vote and assumed that he was to meet the Hokage about his monthly allowance for the month of July.

When Naruto walked in, he saw the three Naras he was familiar with and greeted them politely, offering Shikamaru an overtly enthusiastic hug.

"Naruto, I am happy to announce that the council has voted in favor of your adoption. You can move in with the Naras at your earliest convenience," Hiruzen told Naruto.

The words Naruto caught caused him to become glazed over and he turned to the elder Naras for confirmation of the news. Getting an affirmative nod from Shikaku, Naruto ran towards the couple to hug them briefly before he jumped onto his 'brother' and hugged and shook him in delight. At the end of his celebrations, the tears in Naruto's eyes were evident but he did not mind them, as they were tears of celebration and happiness.

"So Naruto-kun, when do you want to go tell all your friends about this?" Shikaku asked with a knowing smile as both his sons had been forbidden to speak about the adoption until it was finalized and expecting Naruto to keep such a big secret from his friends was clearly unnatural for the blond.

"Right now. Come on Shika-nii," said Naruto with a face-splitting smile, as he headed off towards the park to share the news. It was the weekend and training could wait a couple of hours. Watching Naruto drag an unwilling Shikamaru along, the Hokage and the Nara couple laughed along before they sat down to finalize the details of the adoption.


	7. The Apprentice

Sword Shadow

Chapter 7 – The Apprentice

Iruka Umino was puzzled and thoroughly so. His most controversial student, Naruto Uzumaki, had managed to spectacularly fail the last portion of his exam. There was no indication that this sort of thing would happen. Regretfully, he could not change the rules – a student needs passing grades in the written exams, basic skills and ninjutsu to graduate from the Ninja Academy.

In fact, Naruto had started brilliantly well. Ever since his adoption by the Nara clan, Naruto had become far more focused in his studies. Iruka assumed the added devotion was some sort of means to repay the Naras for their kindness. Whatever it was, Iruka was happy as a serious Naruto meant a non-pranking Naruto – most of the time.

Naruto's skill with taijutsu and weapon handling were showing promising developments over the past two years and Iruka felt he had himself to blame if he couldn't have spotted Naruto's need for remedial instruction in Bunshin making. The clone Naruto made during his examination period was so sickly and ineffective that the only way the blond would be able to beat someone in battle with it, is if they laughed themselves to surrender or defeat.

Of all the students in his class, the one who showed the most improvement was one of the few to fail. It was now up to him to assign the students who passed this year's exam their teammates to form the latest batch of Genin teams. With the advent of Naruto's failing, Iruka would have a hard time assigning teams as well as an unpleasant one.

If Iruka considered his previous day was unpleasant, then his morning didn't show any signs of his problems abating. Waking up to a furious knocking on his door, Iruka was surprised to see his assistant teacher – Mizuki.

"Hurry. We need to go to the Hokage's place right away. Naruto has stolen the Scroll of Seals," Mizuki said.

Iruka followed Mizuki in a daze with several questions swirling around in his head and the one which held most prominent was – _How does Naruto even know about the Scroll of Seals or where it was kept?_

Iruka headed towards the woods to try and locate the blond troublemaker. A few moments later, Iruka spied his target and hopped off the branch he was on to land in front of Naruto.

"Sensei! Oh man! You are here already? I thought I would have some more time. Can you come back in a little while? I'll have the technique done soon. Then I can have my hitate as well right? That's what Mizuki-sensei told me," Naruto spewed the words, hoping to get some more time to practice.

"What are you talking about? Why did you steal the scroll? Are you learning a technique from the scroll?" Iruka asked Naruto, still perplexed about the absurdity of the situation.

"What? You don't know? All right. So after I failed the test last evening I didn't go back home because I didn't know how to tell Miwa-san and Shikaku-san that I failed the exam after all they did for me. That's when Mizuki-sensei found me and told me about the secret way to graduate," Naruto explained.

Naruto took a deep breath before continuing, "Just like Mizuki-sensei said, the scroll was in the Hokage's place and I took it. I tried to learn a jutsu from the scroll but it is very complicated. I opened it and the first one was a type of Bunshin jutsu, and since that's the reason I failed the exam, I looked for another jutsu. Iruka-sensei, there are a lot of neat jutsus in here did you know that?"

Iruka let the boy ramble on, determined to uncover the real happenings of the situation at hand. He realized that Mizuki was the one who supplied Naruto with the information regarding the location of the scroll. "So I finally found a jutsu I liked – the person who wrote the scroll calls it 'Chakra Beam'. The principle behind the jutsu seems easy but I cannot get past the first stage. Please give me some more time to finish it up please?" pleaded Naruto, completely unaware of the seriousness of the situation at hand.

After finally getting a grasp of the situation, Iruka was about to question Naruto, but instead dived towards the boy and pushed the blond out of the way of the incoming kunai. Unfortunately however, a few of the kunai hit the Chunin, one even going painfully through his right thigh.

Without even looking up to face his attacker, Iruka knew who threw the kunai. When Iruka heard Mizuki order Naruto to return the scroll to the assistant teacher, Iruka's suspicions were confirmed. Instead of focusing on his attacker, Iruka decided to protect the young boy. "Naruto, run away as far as you can from here. Don't turn back. Go. NOW!" Iruka shouted the last bit hoping to convey the urgency through his tone.

Unfortunately, Naruto did not take Iruka's heeding seriously enough and his stunned state allowed Mizuki to break the confused boy's spirit further by disclosing the secret about the Kyubi's sealing.

Naruto stood in the clearing in the woods stupidly; the only words that Mizuki spoke that registered reverberated inside his head with a pounding so severe that he felt his head might explode soon. '_You are the nine tailed demon fox.'_

Eventually, the words registered and Naruto finally understood why all the adults and most of the kids in Konoha treated him so harshly. Coming to terms with this new information, Naruto found himself oddly at peace, for now he knew that ubiquitous hatred of the people was justified in some sense. He did not think he was a demon fox himself, but he empathized with the villagers. He did not approve of their actions but understood why they might have felt compelled to do as they did.

However, Naruto found out that his newly found revelation came at a deadly price. As the he looked up to face Mizuki, Naruto found a large shuriken whizzing through the air, poised to impale the blond mercilessly. Naruto closed his eyes in anticipation of the pain that would inevitably follow and felt silly for bracing himself for far too long. The shuriken should have hit him by now. _Did Mizuki-sensei miss?_

Naruto finally opened his eyes as he felt a drop splatter on his face. Reluctantly opening his eyes, the sight in front of the blond horrified him. Iruka lay bent over the boy in a protective stance, playing the role of a human shield, preventing Naruto from getting hit by the shuriken at the cost of getting himself impaled.

Things were starting to get overwhelming for Naruto and he finally took heed of Iruka's advice and bolted into the deeper section of the woods as fast as he could, skidding to a stop and hiding behind a tree when he heard the clashing of bodies onto the forest floor. Naruto kept as quiet as possible to try and learn more about the Kyubi's sealing from conversation between his two teachers.

"The demon fox would do that, but Naruto is different," Iruka wheezed, the damage from the shuriken and the subsequent battle taking its toll.

Those words by Iruka plucked at Naruto's heartstrings – hard and unrelentingly. It was the acknowledgement he had strived so hard to receive. He finally got it, even if it came after the friends he made and his new family was formed, and now the person who acknowledged him was about to die.

"He isn't the demon fox. He is a member of the Hidden Leaf Village," said Iruka, mustering all the conviction he had had left. "He is Uzumaki Naruto."

Those last words were the final push Naruto needed to get him out of his funk. There was no way Naruto was going to be useless about it and let the man who risked his own life to protect him die without Naruto putting up a fight.

Naruto sprang from his hiding place and drove a foot as hard as possible towards Mizuki's face. With Mizuki's attention on finishing off the troublesome Iruka, Naruto was able to catch the assistant instructor unawares and deal a devastating blow.

Mizuki quickly brought himself to his feet to face his assailant. Naruto's bravado momentarily amused Mizuki and so the Chunin declared he would eliminate the boy in a single stroke.

Naruto was now calmer than he had been since this whole encounter had been. Mizuki had threatened to kill the man who saved his life. As Mizuki approached the boy, he noticed that Naruto had the palm of his right hand open with his fingers pointing downwards. As Mizuki took another step forward, Naruto warned his traitorous teacher, "Stay back!"

Taunting the blond, Mizuki took another step forward causing the boy to thrust his arm forward, rotating his wrist so as to point the open palm, with the fingers now facing upwards, towards Mizuki.

"Chakra Beam!" Naruto exclaimed. Alas, the attack was to no avail. The only visible effect of the attack was the dispersion of a few leaves within a foot long radius in front of the extended arm, as a result of the expelled chakra.

Mizuki burst out into an uproarious laughter. "Is that all you got? Your silly attack didn't come close to me!" Mizuki continued laughing, as he took purposeful, menacing steps towards the now frightened boy.

"I… I am… w-w-warning you. S-step back!" Naruto sputtered. He had not even come close to the mastering the jutsu but in his desperation it seemed his only option.

Mizuki strode forward with confidence and Naruto's fear and anger rose with each step Mizuki took. As Mizuki placed himself mere couple feet away from Naruto, he tried the attack again, yelling its name to echo the feelings inside of him, "CHAKRA BEAM!" This time the amount of chakra imbued in the attack was significantly greater and equally out of control.

Mizuki was blown away by the impact of the arm thrust, as a volatile chakra enhanced fist impacted against Mizuki's gut. The force of the blow sent the Chunin to a nearby tree, his head pinging off the bark, knocking Naruto's aggressor into the land of the unconscious.

"Nar-ruto. Come here," Iruka meekly called out.

Naruto had only now realized that his bravado was all for the sake of protecting his beloved teacher and immediately ran to his side to check up on him.

Iruka stopped Naruto's panic by grabbing onto one of his wrists and asking the boy to close his eyes. Complying with his sensei's request, Naruto closed his eyes momentarily until he heard Iruka speak again.

"Congratulations on graduating Naruto!" Iruka said, a smile on his face as he spoke to the blond.

Naruto felt an unfamiliar weight on his head and realized that the missing hitate on his teacher's head was the cause of the unfamiliar weight on his head. Tackling his instructor in joy, Naruto hugged Iruka until the older man cried out in pain from the pressure being put on his newly acquired injuries.

"We need to return that scroll back, Naruto," Iruka told the boy, giving Naruto the cue to let him lose from his embrace.

The Chunin and newly minted Genin walked towards the Hokage tower, glad that the ordeals of the day had finally come to a close.

When they finally entered the Hokage's office, Naruto met someone he had not seen in the morning hours ever.

"Yugao-sensei! How come you are here?" asked a curious Naruto.

Instead of getting a reply from Yugao, Hiruzen addressed Naruto. "Naruto-kun, you have had quite an eventful twelve hours haven't you?" questioned the Hokage.

On the way from the woods to the Hokage tower, Naruto was told about the significance of the scroll he had stolen and the implications of his actions. Naruto had the decency to look embarrassed in front of his commanding officer.

"I saw what happened with the crystal ball. I am not mad at you for what happened. But I am curious – how do you feel, now that you know the truth?" the Hokage finished.

Naruto scratched the back of his neck as he thought carefully about his answer. "To be honest, I haven't had much time to process the whole thing. I do understand why a lot of the villagers glare at me like they do now. Iruka-sensei explained it to me though – I am only its jailer, I am not the Kyubi."

"That is very mature of you Naruto, I am proud of you. Any other questions?" enquired the Hokage.

"I do have one more. Iruka-sensei told me I should ask you, as he was young when the attack happened and doesn't remember all the details. Why was I selected for the sealing?" Naruto asked, since Iruka had offered no answer on the subject matter before.

"For the Kyubi to be sealed effectively, it needed to be contained in the body of a newly born child. If you recall, the Kyubi attacked Konoha on the same day you were born. You were the most ideal candidate for the sealing," Hiruzen chose to answer with a half-truth.

"So what about my parents? Did they not want me? Is that why they offered me up for the sealing?" asked Naruto, his thoughts turning darker as he could not help but feel the betrayal.

"Quite the contrary Naruto-kun. I am sure your parents loved you very much but unfortunately they died trying to protect the village from the Kyubi. I am sorry you never got to meet them," Hiruzen answered. It was the truth; it just wasn't the truth with all the details.

Not fully understanding the finer workings of a seal strong enough to contain a tailed beast, Naruto accepted the story as the truth. He was curious about the identity of his parents, but that was for another day. While he was pondering over the information he learnt over the past few hours, Naruto saw Iruka hand over a document to the Hokage.

Hiruzen studied the document carefully and nodded in approval to himself as he finished reading the document. Naruto also noticed that during the entire time he had been in the office, Yugao had not spoken once.

"Naruto, as you know, the students that pass the Academy exam are placed into provisional three man teams who will become a Genin squad," the Hokage began.

"While Iruka has given you credit for passing, the initial teams had already been devised prior to your 'unofficial' graduation," Hiruzen finished.

"Does that mean I am not a Genin even though I've passed?" asked Naruto.

For the first time since being in the office, Naruto heard Yugao speak. "No Naruto. It means that you haven't been assigned a team and a Jonin sensei. Genin squads aren't the only way forward to newly graduated academy students. Though it is very rare, Jonin or well established Chunin could offer their services to take upon a single student under an apprenticeship."

Naruto considered Yugao's words carefully and he was fairly sure he had assimilated the information correctly. "I accept!" Naruto shouted in response to the unasked question.

Yugao and the Hokage laughed while Iruka looked on perplexed.

"Usually, a graduate is supposed to ask his or her superior if they would like to have an apprentice, Naruto," Yugao chided.

Iruka put the pieces together and considering the familiarity in the relationship between Yugao and Naruto, Iruka established that they had had prior contact. While he did not know on what premise the relationship was established, Iruka did recall Naruto refer to Yugao as 'sensei' when they first entered the office.

Iruka finally voiced his thoughts, "Hokage-sama, how long have Yugao-san and Naruto known each other and what has Yugao-san been instructing Naruto in?"

Naruto answered for the Hokage, jubilant at the prospect of having Yugao as his instructor in an official capacity. This meant no more late night training sessions. They would train all day. _I am going to be the greatest swordsman ever._

"Yugao-sensei has been teaching me for almost a year and a half now. She teaches me kenjutsu and some basic training as well," answered Naruto, restlessness causing him to bounce on his heels, bobbing up and down like a buoy in the open seas.

_I never would have thought Naruto would be interested in kenjutsu training. This extra training does explain his increased speed; it would be more than useful for a kenjutsu user, _thought Iruka to himself.

Iruka was distracted from his musings when he heard the Hokage speak. "Naruto, you and Yugao-chan can discuss the details of your training later. I think you should go home now. Miwa-chan and Shikaku-san were quite upset when you didn't go home last night. Don't worry, I have told them what happened but I am sure they would like to have you home. Besides, they don't know you are a Genin yet. Why don't you go share the good news?"

The reality of the situation had just hit him, and it hit him like a ton of bricks. Naruto had not even told his adoptive parents that he failed. He had not even gone home. Shikamaru would have known that Naruto failed but he would not be able to answer questions about his whereabouts over the past twelve hours.

"Kuso!" Naruto cursed. "I have got to go. I'll talk to you later Yugao-sensei. Thank you Iruka-sensei. Bye Old Man!" Naruto blurted out before he turned around and sprinted to the Nara compound as fast as his legs could carry him.

Author's Note: The Chakra Beam technique referenced here is from Hektols. In his story, the technique is called Hizashi. Even though there are quite a few of these Chakra Beam/Ray techniques out there, what I will really be borrowing from him is the training steps for the technique. So thank you Hektols.

Also I stole a lot of dialogue between Mizuki, Iruka and Naruto from the manga. I wanted to keep things original but with my twist. It wont happen again.

Happy Easter everyone.


	8. Sprinting Towards the Demon

Sword Shadow

Chapter 8 – Sprinting Towards the Demon

It had been three months since Naruto and the rest of his class graduated to become the latest batch of Konoha Genin and in that time, Naruto often returned home with his fair share of bruises. Shikamaru had often complained about how troublesome being a Genin was, what with all the glorified chores that they were instructed to do. However, under Yugao's guidance Naruto spent more time training than any of his colleagues and doing fewer missions as a consequence.

If he was fair to himself, Naruto didn't particularly mind been given the short end of the stick with respect to his share of mission allocations. On the few D-rank missions he had done and the many more he had heard from Shikamaru about his team, Team 10, Naruto could not fathom how any of these 'missions' could help better a ninja. They were chores and Naruto was glad not to be running about wasting time doing the same.

However, being under Yugao as an apprentice meant that Naruto had barely seen his friends since the mishap with Mizuki at the end of the last year. In fact, he had only told Shikamaru about his graduation, and that was solely due to the fact that they lived in the same house.

Naruto had been trained into the ground and on some days that expression took a literal meaning as well. Yugao was adamant that Naruto would have to improve his basics and his abilities as a ninja before they undertook any higher-level missions. This was motivation enough for Naruto, as he had no intentions on doing cumbersome chores for lazy village folk.

Naruto's initial training focused on dodging ability and kenjutsu katas. Yugao had painfully drilled into Naruto the importance of being nimble and the advantages of dodging as opposed to blocking.

"If you dodge my sword swing, you are already in a position of favor. Missing your strike could lead you to be off balance, making you an easier target to strike down. Read your opponents body to help predict where and when the strike will come from. Then use whatever little is in the space in between your ears and chose a direction that is most favorable for you to dodge towards," Yugao had said, adding emphasis to her point whilst dodging a wild strike from Naruto in retaliation to the insult and poking her own bokken firmly up his backside to illustrate an example of her advice.

Naruto had not grown much physically over the past three months, but his development was more visible on the training grounds as opposed to on the streets. He had become faster, significantly so as well if he were to consider Yugao's proclamation – and that was more than good enough for him.

Naruto's increase in speed was a result of some brutal training that involved adding weights to his limbs and then training as normal. With small increments in the weight, he had seen no improvement after two and a half months, but when instructed to spar against Yugao with the training weights off, Naruto had realized what an effective training method it was and was only stopped from increasing the weights on his body after being told about the pitfalls of overdoing the training regimen.

Naruto had not known to experience any pain as a result of his training in a long while and was confused. He had often asked Yugao why he healed from his scrapes and bruises so quickly and the only answer he got led to him questioning the presence of the beast sealed up within him.

As Naruto and Yugao headed up to pick up their mission for the week, Naruto decided to ask the Hokage about the side effects of having a massive chakra construct sealed within oneself.

"To be honest Naruto, not much has been documented about the abilities that the tailed beast bestow upon their hosts but there is some evidence that there are certain benefits. The first jinchuriki of the Kyubi was known to have an innate ability to sense negative emotions in their surroundings. Enhanced healing could very well be another gift as a result of being a jinchuriki. Both quite useful to a ninja, I might add," Hiruzen told Naruto before he had had the chance to issue the master and apprentice pair a mission.

Naruto looked up pleadingly at Yugao, the silent message was clear. _'Please not another D-rank.'_ Yugao would not offer Naruto any consolation as she just shrugged in response to his look. At that very moment, an overtly out of breath looking Chunin entered the mission room.

"Hokage-sama, we have an urgent message from Kakashi-san requested back up for his mission. The message was brought in by one of his hounds," said the Chunin, handing over a scroll to the Hokage as he made every effort to catch his breath.

The Hokage read the message and raised his eyebrows in alarm. Team 7's encounter with the Demon Brothers all but ensured that he had sent an ill prepared team to Wave. Kakashi had requested the assistance of an additional Jonin or Chunin in anticipation of greater threats in the future. The Hokage looked up from the request scroll and looked at the present company.

With the Demon Brothers involvement this C-rank mission had gone up to a B-rank mission and if Kakashi thought that stronger opponents could surface that would mean that the Genin he sent in previously would be hard pressed to return to Konoha if multiple strong ninja were involved.

Unfortunately, his forces were spread fairly thin and one of his most capable ninja stood right in front of him. Hiruzen was in an ethical dilemma; he could send Yugao in for reinforcements but that would mean having to send Naruto in as well. However the mission was clearly above the levels of a fresh out of the Academy Genin. Failure to send in reinforcements quickly enough however, could lead to the loss of some promising Genin and one already very accomplished Jonin. Time was of the utmost importance and Hiruzen made a decision he hoped he would not live to regret.

"Team Yugao, you are to reinforce Team 7 on their mission in Wave. You will leave right away as they have a day and a half's head start. Team 7 have already had an encounter with the Demon Brothers and it is possible that they will be up against stronger ninja. The mission is a B-rank with a high possibility that it will be upgraded to an A-rank. Dismissed!"

Naruto was shocked beyond words. He had hoped he would get a simple C-rank mission – an escort mission, at least that way he would get to see what lay beyond the massive walls that protected Konoha. This was beyond his scope but he knew he needed to act. Sakura and Sasuke were in Team 7, he had learnt from Shikamaru, and he would be damned if he didn't help them out to the best of his limited abilities.

As Yugao and Naruto left the Hokage Tower, Naruto's mind was a jumble of emotions and thoughts but he was sensible enough to hear a few words from Yugao on their way out – "Lose the weights…Grab your pack… Main Gates in ten minutes"

Naruto didn't want to throw the weights away in reckless abandon so he made his way to the Nara household as quickly as possible and rid of his weights grabbing a ninja pack and sprinting back towards the Main Gates. Yugao was already waiting for Naruto at the gate and waited just a few seconds before she took off tree hopping away from Konoha, knowing Naruto would follow.

It took Naruto almost a quarter mile out to realize that he felt as light as a feather while maneuvering through the trees following his sensei who set a quick yet just about manageable pace. Removing the weights had had an astonishing effect on his pace and he was glad for it considering the time they had had to make up.

He had a ton of questions to ask but would focus on covering as much ground as possible for the time being. He had a day and a half's worth of ground to cover and even if the members of Team 7 and their charge were walking, that was still a lot of mileage.

As Naruto caught up to Yugao so that they were travelling side by side, Yugao spoke up.

"Team 7 have been sent on an escort mission to Wave Country to protect a bridge builder until he and his crew can finish building the bridge. It was supposed to be a simple C-rank mission until the Demon Brothers got themselves involved. The Demon Brothers are a pair of Kirigakure ninja who are notorious for the teamwork and their use of poisonous weapons. We might pass them on our way there but we won't be stopping to ask questions. Kakashi's scroll has outlined that they were tied up so that they could be picked up for an arrest. We are to catch up with Team 7 and provide back up until they can finish the mission. This also means that if I am not around, Kakashi-sensei will be your superior – that means you do as he tells you to unless I am around. Understood?"

Naruto didn't speak but simply nodded to confirm that he had heard what Yugao had said and that he would obey Kakashi's orders in her absence.

As they continued the rest of their travel in silence, Naruto reflected back to his progress with the Chakra Beam technique – or in his case, a lack of progress. With Yugao stressing on kenjutsu training, Naruto had not had a lot of time to practice the technique he had learnt from the Scroll of Seals. His chakra control was quite abysmal and he had never been able to replicate the results he had gotten when he managed to hit Mizuki hard enough to knock him out.

He would have to improve his control to improve as a ninja in any case, better start sooner rather than later. They had covered a lot of ground since the time they had been travelling and were about to stop when they heard an incessant cursing.

Yugao signaled Naruto to stop and he fell in behind his sensei. As Yugao and Naruto proceeded with caution, Yugao was pleasantly surprised to see the infamous Demon Brothers tied to a tree helpless to their own cause.

Yugao signaled Naruto to continue following her and turned around to speak to him.

"Kakashi sent his message after the encounter with Demon Brothers. Since they have a civilian client with them, they would have undoubtedly stopped for the night shortly after and left in the morning. If they continued walking, we should be able to meet up with them soon enough. We have been running non-stop for almost six hours now. Do you need a break?" Yugao asked, concerned about Naruto. She was sure he had never had to run so hard for so long.

Naruto thought about it for a while and said, "Do you think we can catch up within a few hours?"

Yugao nodded in affirmation.

"Then we can take the break when we meet them. We are their reinforcements, if something happened to Sakura and Sasuke while we were taking a break, it would defeat out purpose."

"Okay, but pace yourself. If we are needed right away then it wont be useful if you are out of steam. Here have a soldier pill and a ration bar. It should return most of your lost energy. Just don't focus on the taste," said Yugao, tossing a small bar and a little bag towards the blond.

Naruto almost spat out the ration bar but managed to keep the contents in. He would need his energy if his friends were in trouble. The soldier pill, which Naruto found in the small bag, went down a lot better and he felt instantaneously refreshed.

As Yugao ate a ration bar and a soldier pill as well and the pair continued on towards the location of Team 7, picking up the pace slightly after getting some food in.

Team 7 had decided to continue on with the mission to help the now sober bridge builder Tazuna after he had explained the state of affairs of his hometown. Kakashi was weary of doing so but the adamant nature of his students both confused and pleased him. However, he could not afford to just indulge his students without providing support for them. He was a more than capable ninja but if an opponent of greater caliber than the Demon Brothers showed up, he would be hard pressed to both fight them off and defend his students and their charge.

As Team 7 walked along, Kakashi wondered if his hound had been able to drop the message off in time and if suitable reinforcements were sent. Tazuna had said that once they crossed the river, they would be very close to his house.

As the boat crossed the narrow strait away from Fire Country and into Wave Country, Kakashi and the rest of his team marveled at the sight of the near finished bridge. It was quite the spectacle indeed and if finished, would ruin Gato's strangle hold on the economy of the tiny island country.

Whilst walking towards Tazuna's house, Kakashi could not help but feel as though his little group was being watched. Paranoia was a gift and curse to a ninja. Suspecting everything or listening to your gut often helped save your head. However, falling pray to excessive paranoia often led to losing one's mental facilities as well. Kakashi had been in enough battles and honed his senses to belong to the former group. Listening to his instinct, Kakashi yelled for his group to drop to the ground and for once his team obeyed his orders without question.

It was quite a miracle that the members of Team 7 did as they were asked without complaining, the massive cleaver had passed by their heads with just inches to spare. Kakashi recognized the man perched on top of the hilt of the sword instantly – Zabuza Momochi also known as Demon of the Hidden Mist.

_Gato has hired a group of defected Mist ninja to deal with Tazuna and when the Demon Brothers failed it was up to the big fish to finish up the job. _Absolutely great, thought Kakashi.

Kakashi fought off Zabuza to the best of his abilities while entrusting the safety of Tazuna to his Genin. With Zabuza's preference for fighting from within a mist, the battle was nerve wracking and Kakashi had found himself kicked into the water. Before he could comprehend what was happening, Kakashi found himself trapped in a dense sphere of water.

To make things worse, Zabuza had just created a water clone to finish off his team and Tazuna. Things had gone from bad to worse immediately.

Urging his students to run away, Kakashi hoped they would listen for a second time without complaint. Unfortunately, he was not as lucky as Sasuke and Ranmaru, the third Genin in his team, attempted to fight against the water clone in a desperate bid to free Kakashi.

Ranmaru Kazu was not exactly an exceptional ninja. In fact he would have not even been on this team if Naruto had managed to pass the exam. With Naruto failing to do so, Ranmaru was placed on the Genin team with Sasuke and Sakura. However, Ranmaru was a bullish ninja and was adamant that their chances for survival were far increased with Kakashi outside the water prison.

With a clever use of shuriken, Ranmaru and Sasuke had managed to free Kakashi from his water prison.

Kakashi was enraged and decided to remind Zabuza exactly why he was called 'The Copy Cat Ninja'.

As the sounds of screams reached their ears, Naruto and Yugao looked at each other and quickened their pace towards the source of the noise. From afar Naruto could see that two identical men were fighting against Team 7. One holding the man, he had briefly seen in the alley outside the bar all those months ago, in a sphere of water, and another fighting off Sasuke and one of his classmates he was not well acquainted with.

_It's a clone,_ Naruto realized as he moved closer towards the scene of the action. When Yugao and Naruto finally arrived, they witnessed a huge clash between two dragons made of water. Within seconds a massive wall of water crashed upon the ninja who had made the clone earlier and knocked him out against a tree.

Naruto landed next to Sakura, startling her out of her wits. "Naruto, what are you doing here? Is that a hitate on your forehead? But you failed the exams, how do you have a hitate?" Sakura shot off her questions as she recovered from her shock.

"Later Naruto," Yugao instructed.

The arrival of Naruto and Yugao had distracted the members of Team 7 and at that precise moment, two senbon pierced through Zabuza's neck. Just as quickly as the group was distracted by Naruto's arrival, they whipped their heads around to see a dead Zabuza laying on the floor.

Kakashi followed the path of the thrown projectiles back to its source and found a ninja that was most definitely a hunter ninja from the Mist.

_Makes sense I guess. Zabuza left Mist after his failed assassination attempt of the Fourth Mizukage. It stands to reason that the Mizukage would send a group out to kill him. But a single ninja that cant be much older than my own Genin?_ Kakashi pondered to himself.

As the ninja disappeared with Zabuza's body, Kakashi was pleased to note that his reinforcements had arrived. _Yugao Uzuki. That's good; she is a very capable Jonin. But what is Naruto doing here?_

Just as Yugao rushed over to meet with Kakashi, he proceeded to meet the forest floor – face first. _Need to train harder, the drain from using the Sharingan is still too much to handle._

Yugao assumed command of the group as she helped carry Kakashi towards Tazuna's house. She listened to the group around her talk so that she could piece together as much information about the proceedings as possible. As she listened to Sakura and Ranmaru describe the events as best as possible, she noticed Naruto had dragged Sasuke separately and could just about make sense of what the two were talking about.

"Sasuke, about that ninja that you were just fighting. Before you forced him to release your sensei, there were two of them. It was a Bunshin wasn't it?"

"Yup, but it wasn't the regular Bunshin we learnt about in the Academy. This one was made of water and it was very solid. So, I guess it wasn't anything like the Bunshin we learnt in the Academy"

_Bunshins that aren't merely used to distract? Why didn't they teach us that in the Academy? _Naruto wondered. He idly mused if he would be able to figure out that for the examination or if he would fail that as well.

Naruto was pulled out of his musings when he heard Sasuke speak again.

"Naruto! Want to tell me why you are here with a Jonin, with a hitate on your head as well?"

"I am guessing Sakura will want to know the answer to that as well. I'll tell you guys when we are all together because I don't want to repeat myself. It's a good story, I promise," said Naruto as he headed towards Yugao, who had beckoned him to help carry Kakashi as they moved towards Tazuna's house.

"I am proud of you Naruto. We covered that distance in great time and although we didn't help much today, we are here and now Kakashi can rest easy."

Naruto beamed at the praise and was hoping there would be some food waiting at Tazuna's house, as he was famished and quite ready to join the masked Jonin in a similar state of consciousness.


	9. Despair on the Bridge of Hope

Sword Shadow

Chapter 9 – Despair on the Bridge of Hope

Author's Note: First and foremost I would like to acknowledge a mistake in my story. I previously referred to Shikamaru's mother as Miwa and it has been brought to my attention that her name is actually Yoshino. From here onwards, I will be sticking to her original name, Yoshino, but I am not sure about how to make the changes to the previous chapters so you will have to forgive me for that. If anyone does know, let me know. I uploaded an entire document when posting the chapter so how do I go about fixing the name without having to upload another document to replace the one with the wrong name?

If there are any writers out there reading my story, could you please tell me how to add a line to separate my AN from the rest of the story. It's on my word document but it doesn't pop up when I post a new chapter online. What could I be doing wrong?

I hope you enjoy this installment of Sword Shadow.

"Zori! Waraji! Its time to pay a visit to that blasted demon," Gato shouted at the closed door of his office. Immediately, the two men, who served as bodyguards to the diminutive smuggler, entered the room.

The two men that entered the room had completely different appearances but they both served as samurai from the Land of Waves. Waraji, the taller of the two, had his hair in three parts and wore an eye patch over his right eye. The left side of his torso was heavily tattooed and he wore a kimono that covered only the bottom half of his body, exposing the bandages that were wrapped around his abdomen. In contrast, Zori wore an unremarkable blue jacket and a purple hat that covered a large part of his pale blue hair. Both men carried their swords on their hips and could be called into action at a moments notice.

The two men held the door of the office open, allowing the bespectacled man to cross into the hallway. Zori and Waraji followed a few paces behind, intent on keeping their meal ticket alive.

As Gato entered the room in which Zabuza was being cared for, he made no effort to hide his disdain for the former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

"You claim yourself to be the Devil and yet you cannot beat a group of genin led by one Jonin. Pathetic!" Gato exclaimed, spewing spittle as he voiced his unbridled dislike for the turn of events. It had taken a while to gain complete control of the shipping routes in and around the Land of Waves. For all intents and purposes, the whole region was under his control but the damnable bridge builder posed a risk to all his power – and money.

As he lay, Zabuza presented no risk to him while he was under the protection of Zori and Waraji, but that child that was caring for the Devil was proving to be a thorn on his side as well. After the quick confrontation between Haku and Gato, the shipping magnate left but was adamant to get the last word in.

"While I am paying you, you belong to me Zabuza. Don't you dare forget that! You will eliminate the bridge builder – and if I think you are incapable of doing so, I will send my own ninja to ensure what you started is finished" Gato spat out from the threshold of the room. Turning swiftly on his heel, he left the room, Zori and Waraji following closely behind in silence.

Tazuna and the group of Konoha ninja that accompanied him had reached his house just under an hour after their confrontation with Zabuza. Kakashi was laying down on a futon in one of the rooms as directed to by Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, while he recuperated his energy following his battle with the former Mist ninja.

After depositing Kakashi on the futon, Yugao joined Naruto and his friends who had huddled together in the living room, demanding the details of his presence and how he had become a Genin of Konoha when he had clearly left the Academy on graduation day without a hitate.

"… and then the jutsu finally worked and I knocked Mizuki-sensei out. Then Iruka-sensei gave me his hitate and told me that I had done enough to pass," Naruto said, beaming at the recollection of the memory. It started as a horrible day, the night was even harder but the whole ordeal ended up as a bright memory.

For the longest time, Sasuke and Sakura did not say anything. The story they heard was so absurd but if any one was part of such a bizarre story, they both knew that it could only be Naruto.

Ranmaru Kazu was the third Genin member of Team 7. His strengths focused on thrown weaponry and he was quite head strong. However, when it came to his class grades, he was on the other end of the spectrum from Sasuke and Sakura, which meant, with the failure of Naruto in the graduation test, he become the final component of Team 7. Ranmaru stood as tall as Sasuke and wore a dark green shirt and black pants, outfitted with a pair of black ninja sandals. Like Naruto and Sasuke, Ranmaru wore his hitate across his forehead.

Ranmaru was the first to speak up after Naruto narrated his story. "I don't believe you. If you graduated and become a Genin, who is in your team huh? Why did you only come with a Jonin? Where is the rest of your team?" Ranmaru asked Naruto.

Sasuke and Sakura both turned to face Ranmaru when he had spoken and when they listened to him, they had to admit he had brought up some good points. It was true, Naruto was here, with only a Jonin, and when Kakashi had explained the importance of teamwork during their Genin examination, they were sure that all Genin would be split up into teams of three.

As the Genin of Team 7 looked towards Naruto for an explanation, they were caught unawares of a presence behind them, until she began to speak.

"Naruto is my apprentice and will continue to be so until either one of us dies or he is promoted to Chunin," Yugao had said from right behind Sakura, causing the pink-haired girl to jump out of her skin at the unexpected arrival of Naruto's sensei.

"An apprentice?" Sasuke questioned.

Yugao explained to the members of Team 7 that in exceptional circumstances; Genin may be taken on under apprenticeships. "… And as you can all agree, the conditions that surrounded Naruto's graduation was easily considered exceptional."

It was hard to argue that fact – a confrontation with a traitorous former Academy teacher, stealing a forbidden scroll and a near death experience of their own teacher did indeed make for an exceptional graduation.

"Yugao-san, if Naruto is your apprentice, what area of the shinobi arts is Naruto training in?" Sakura had asked, drawing the attention of the two boys of Team 7 to the still standing former ANBU.

"Hehe," Naruto giggled childishly as he stood up theatrically, nearly toppling the little table that stood between the four Genin. "Team 7, I, Naruto Uzumaki, am going to be Konoha's greatest swordsman", Naruto shouted, jerking a thumb towards his chest for emphasis.

With Kakashi still passed out in the room upstairs, Tsunami and Tazuna joined the five Konoha ninja for dinner, where the group split up into several small conversations – Sasuke and Naruto discussing Zabuza's use of Mizu Bunshin (Water Clones) during their earlier fight, Sakura talking to Yugao about her experience with kenjutsu and Ranmaru talking to Tazuna and Tsunami about the Land of Waves.

Dinner was progressing smoothly until Inari, Tsunami's son, walked in and expressed his disapproval of a bunch of kids hoping to save Wave Country from Gato's reign of terror.

"There is no such thing as heroes!" Inari shouted, directing the large majority of his ire towards the Genin. "You guys should just go back home. You can't beat Gato. You are just kids!"

"Why you…!" Naruto began, determined to silence the snot nosed brat for the insult they were subject to, only to be held back by Sasuke.

Naruto was about to chastise Sasuke until he saw the look in the raven-haired boy's eyes. Naruto looked from Sasuke to Inari and saw the tears welling up in Inari's eyes. Huffing, Naruto sat down back at his table as he watched Inari run back to his room.

The next morning, Kakashi finally woke up and after filling in Yugao with the happenings of the mission they both came down the stairs to meet their respective charges.

"Yugao and I were discussing the mission and we both realized that there is a strong possibility that Zabuza might not be dead and that the ninja that disappeared with Zabuza's body might be his accomplice rather than a ninja of the Mist," Kakashi told the group of Genin without revealing any of the emotions he himself felt on the matter. As expected, the Genin all wore looks of shock and confusion.

"Kakashi-sensei, Zabuza got attacked with two senbons to the neck. How would he have survived that attack?" Sakura asked her sensei.

Kakashi discussed the roles of the Hunter ninja and their responsibilities as protectors of their village's secrets. "What puzzled me the most was the fact that the Hunter ninja did not destroy Zabuza's body at the scene and instead chose to disappear with it. It is quite possible to knock someone out by hitting the precise points of their body. Zabuza could be back soon – we have to train ourselves to be able to fight against him," Kakashi finished, fixing the Genin with a serious look to emphasize the severity of the situation.

"Don't worry Kakashi-san. You have Yugao-sensei and me this time!" Naruto said.

"If we can have reinforcements, what makes you think Gato won't send someone else with Zabuza to even things up?" Yugao asked Naruto.

The blond had no answer to Yugao's question and so chose to address Kakashi instead. " So what are we training on?"

Yugao and Kakashi led the Genin towards a clearing in the woods behind Tazuna's house. They had agreed that Naruto would need training in chakra control as well since it was an important aspect of all shinobi's development.

As Yugao demonstrated to the four Genin how to go about with completing the chakra control exercise, Kakashi explained the principles of the exercise and its importance.

"A ninja in battle will need to channel chakra for a variety of reasons. For example, throwing around jutsu while fighting on top of water requires a great deal of control and ability. If you were solely focusing on staying on top of the water, how could you expect to fight against an opponent?" Kakashi explained.

"What Yugao is doing now is one of the most basic forms of chakra control exercises. Master this technique and you will be one step closer to becoming a better ninja. Knowing exactly how much chakra is needed for a jutsu ensures that it is most effective and doesn't waste any of your stores – abundant as they might be," Kakashi finished, looking at Naruto as he finished his last statement.

With the demonstration over, Yugao tossed the four Genin a kunai each to mark their progress with the exercises on the trees they selected.

Within moments, Sakura had managed to cover significant ground on her control exercise and quickly reached a high branch on the tree, surprising everyone at the speed with which she completed the exercise.

Yugao and Kakashi shared equally astonished looks on their faces as Kakashi commended the girl of the group on her progress. "Well done Sakura. Continue with the exercise to develop your stamina. Tomorrow you will be on guard duty with Yugao and Tazuna."

Sakura beamed with pride at having completed the chakra control exercise first but within the hour, she was sweating bullets as she finally collapsed in a heap, unable to carry on any further.

Ranmaru and Sasuke were doing admirably well – with each run taking them closer to the top. They were panting hard as well with the exertion but it was Naruto that surprised her. The blonde's progress was achingly slow but as soon as he landed he was back up, running towards the tree.

As she saw Naruto flip back off the tree after his latest attempt, she watched as he walked over to her instead of running up against the tree.

"Ne, Sakura-chan, could you give me some pointers? I don't seem to be making much progress and both Sasuke and Ranmaru seem miles ahead at this point," Naruto asked Sakura.

Sakura outlined what she learnt during the course of the exercise and made suggestions as per her observations of Naruto's attempts so far. Thanking the pink-haired girl, Naruto went headed towards the tree he had marred with kunai slashes.

As dusk approached, Sakura left the boys to their own devices, she idly noticed that Naruto was catching up to the other boys.

When it was time for dinner, the three boys returned to Tazuna's house, famished to the point that they were barely able to drag them selves past the door and into the house.

As soon as they were able to shovel some food down their gut, the boys began eating at a more relaxed pace and so conversation picked up around the table after the other members of the table stopped staring at the boys' antics.

Spying a photo frame on the wall opposite the table, Ranmaru noticed that the picture within the photo was torn away at one side – effectively removing a person from the picture. Curious as the reason why, Ranmaru asked Tazuna what had happened.

Tazuna told the Konoha ninja about Kaiza, Tsunami's late husband, with a mixture of sadness and pride. Midway during the story, Inari stormed off to his room, visibly upset with having to recount the events that destroyed his faith in heroes.

It had been close to a week since the tree climbing exercises began and Sasuke and Ranmaru had finished mastering the exercises a few days before. Ranmaru and Sasuke had joined Sakura at the bridge to protect Tazuna while Yugao oversaw Naruto's training in the chakra climbing exercise.

It was understandable that Naruto needed more time than the others to finish the task. He was not dedicating his entire training time solely to the chakra control exercise. On alternate days, Yugao would pull Naruto away from the group to ensure that Naruto's sword skills were not getting rusty.

_It had been two days since Yugao and Kakashi explained the chakra control exercises to the Genin. While Sakura had finished the exercise on the first day, she would spend a few hours in the morning continuing to build her stamina. None of the boys could match the height she could climb on the tree but Sasuke was steadily catching, followed closely by both Naruto and Ranmaru._

_As the Genin left Tazuna's house to fulfill their respective duties, Naruto was pulled back by Yugao, "You are training with me today," she said curtly._

_As Naruto followed Yugao into the woods, she arrived at a clearing where she stopped and turned around to face her charge._

"_As Kakashi and I suspect, the masked hunter ninja they had an encounter with earlier might very well be a member of Zabuza's team. If that is the case, I need to train you better so that you can hold your own against him," Yugao said, as she pulled out a scroll from a pocket in her jacket._

"_Its time you got your own sword, Naruto. You have improved tremendously over the last few months and this opponent is the real deal. He is probably attacking with the intent to kill, which means we can't be charging up against him with a bokken," Yugao continued, releasing a little chakra into the storage scroll and catching the scabbard that popped out of the scroll._

_As Naruto processed the words, his eyes bugged out of their sockets when he saw the scroll release the scabbard. As Yugao unsheathed the blade within the scabbard, Naruto noticed that it was a pure black sword, from pommel to point. The blade was slender and slightly curved with a square guard and a significantly large grip. Naruto recognized the single edged blade instantaneously – 'A katana', Naruto thought to himself._

_Yugao took a few practice swings with the blade and then handed it over to Naruto. "It's a standard ANBU katana – very light and extremely durable. It doesn't reflect a lot of light and makes it quite a lethal weapon for use with its razor sharp blade. This is no toy Naruto, you can cut yourself if you are not careful. We don't want that, we want to cut the enemy!" Yugao finished with an exclamation._

_Naruto took the blade reverently from Yugao and studied it. Holding the scabbard in his left hand, he took a few practice swings with the sword. The sword had the same length as the bokken he was using but weighed a fraction less than the training sword. Naruto realized that regardless of the encounter, he was bound to inherit this sword sooner or later. It was so remarkably similar to his training sword that he realized that Yugao had meant for him to be a katana user – at least primarily. _

_The grip was made with black colored leather that sat comfortably within Naruto's palm. Naruto swung the sword in both the single and the double-handed grip. It was not too heavy to handle with the single-handed grip and Naruto was pleased to note that._

"_Go through your katas, all of them. Get used to the sword, its feel, weight and balance. We will be in battle soon and I could ill afford to have you in a fight with an unknown weapon," Yugao instructed Naruto._

_Yugao scrutinized every movement the blond made as he moved through the routines she had instructed him in, slowly at first and picking up pace once he had assured himself to be at ease with the weapon. Yugao was pleased as Naruto showed improvements in his movements as he acclimatized himself with the sword._

_After a couple hours of going through the motions, Yugao beckoned Naruto to join her for a light lunch before they recommenced their training. Naruto placed the sword in the black scabbard and tied the strap across his hip, allowing the sword to be drawn from the left side of his body._

_As they ate their fill, Naruto and Yugao spoke about the impending battle and their thoughts on the issue._

"_Sakura and Kakashi told me that the boy that works with Zabuza uses senbon with deadly accuracy. It stands to reason that you will be fighting against him – with or without help. If you do fight against him, it is critical that you are not hit by any of those senbon. If he could put Zabuza in a temporary death state from a great distance from a tree, I am sure he could do some damage to you," Yugao told Naruto, unsure whether the large gulp from the blond was a consequence of swallowing the food he had just ingested or an involuntary reaction to the fear she had put into him._

"_You are fast Naruto, but that ninja with Zabuza might be even faster. We can't discount that possibility so we are going to spend the rest of the day training you to dodge projectiles. If you can't dodge one of them, we have to make sure you block them at the very least," Yugao continued, satisfied when she saw Naruto nod in acceptance with a renewed fire in his eyes. This is why she had picked the boy to train, he had a tenacity that was not found in most his age. His will to survive was unparalleled – unsurprising considering the torment of abuse he was subject to for the vast majority of his life._

_As they finished up their meal, Yugao spent the next half hour instructing Naruto on how to optimize his movements and use his sword to block in a way where he would not lose sight of his opponent but still manage to avoid being hit by whatever projectile was thrown at him._

_Having digested the food, both master and student began training. Yugao began with throwing kunai at the boy from directly in front of him, adding in shuriken at random intervals to confuse him with the changes in trajectory and speed. By the end of the day, Naruto was severely bruised but he had managed to dodge the majority of the projectiles as well as block most of the few that he was unable to skip past. It was the ones that he was unable to both dodge and block that were responsible for his current state of affairs. However, Naruto and Yugao both noticed that the benefit of having a large chakra monster in one's belly was the amazing regenerative powers – Naruto had healed from most of the scrapes and was raring to continue until Yugao decided that overexertion at this stage could be quite detrimental to the blond's training._

Naruto had left Tazuna's house at the advent of dawn to get some training in the chakra control exercises before he was due to train with Yugao again. He had made good progress with the sword and the few spars he had had with Yugao lasted more than a minute before Yugao had 'struck' him with a conclusive 'blow', which was a lot longer than his spars in Konoha.

'It's a thinking man's battle,' Naruto remembered Yugao's words as he ran up against a newly selected tree – the previous one was so littered with marks that it was hard to recognize if he made any progress on it or not. Naruto was upset that Sasuke had finished the exercise well before him but understood that he was training to become a swordsman and had to prioritize accordingly.

Sasuke had a plethora of questions for Kakashi – the man was clearly not an Uchiha but was still in possession of a Sharingan eye. The trait did not exist outside of the Uchiha clan, and to the best of his recollections, surely did not develop in just a solitary eye. _So how does Kakashi-sensei have that eye in the first place?_ Unfortunately for Sasuke, the tree climbing exercise and the subsequent guard duty on the bridge did not exactly cater for a question and answer session with his Jonin sensei. He would have to wait until they were back in Konoha. In any case the information he would gain would have more meaning when he had unlocked his own Sharingan eye.

Sasuke had noticed that Naruto had gotten a lot better with his overall skills than when they had left the Academy but that was to be expected with any Genin. What intrigued Sasuke about the blond was his commitment to his swordsmanship. Naruto trained with his Jonin sensei, Yugao, every other day and came back with scrapes and bruises all over his body but was raring for another session as soon as possible. It was blatantly obvious that the boy enjoyed his training – the delight in Naruto's eyes as he outlined his training regime and exercises over the dinner table conveyed the message loud and clear.

Truth be told, Sasuke was a little bit jealous about Naruto's situation. He had a master whose sole focus was on improving her charge's ability as a ninja. Sasuke was an avenger – he had had this path chosen for him by his brother all those years ago. He had sworn to himself that he would get good enough to beat Itachi and Sasuke could definitely appreciate the benefits of having a personal instructor.

Despite the jealousy, Sasuke felt no animosity towards Naruto. The boy had had his share of rotten luck from all he had heard from Sakura and the others and he deserved this kind twist of fate. Sasuke had isolated himself ever since the massacre and rarely met his friends when he was younger. He did not feel comfortable explaining his situation with any of his peers and had accordingly chosen not to do so – alluding to his plight with the barest of details when Kakashi had asked him to introduce himself to the members of Team 7 on the rooftop of the Academy building the day after graduation.

Sasuke correctly assumed that Naruto had felt at ease with the troubled raven-haired boy as well. Since the meeting in Wave was their first since graduation, Naruto had spent all his free time discussing a myriad of matters almost exclusively with him. While most of the conversation focused on shinobi matters like improving with the tree climbing technique or Zabuza's use of the water clones while fighting Kakashi – Sasuke did not understand Naruto's fixation with the clone technique, he assumed that it perhaps was something of a bond between swordsman, now that he knew of Naruto's apprenticeship – Sasuke knew that Naruto valued their time together and Sasuke was realizing that he was opening up more to the blond in the week that they had been in Wave than any one else over the past couple of years.

When Sasuke first realized that the blond had wormed his way into cracking a part of the wall he had stubbornly built up, he had been shocked but this feeling was instantaneously replaced by gratitude. Sasuke spent all his free time in Konoha training in some aspect of the shinobi arts and his lack of interaction with his peers outside of Team 7 – most of whom he did not trust fully to let down his walls – was severely limited.

Naruto's training in kenjutsu had always been away from the group but Sasuke knew that the blond was recognized to have enough potential for the complicated art, then he would have not only a friend in Naruto, perhaps, dare he say it, a rival as well.

Yugao had long since left Naruto to train in his chakra control exercise, giving him all the pointers she saw fit but leaving him with the vast majority of the thinking still to do. She noted he had made progress on the exercise and was fairly sure that he would have it mastered by the end of the day. As Naruto stumbled into the Tazuna household well past dinner time with a proud smile on his face, Yugao caught the boy before his face introduced itself to the wooden flooring of the house. _He has trained himself to exhaustion just to finish the exercise, possibly because he could catch up to his peers._ As she carried the boy to his futon and let him lay there until he recuperated, Yugao thought of her adventures with the boy and how tumultuous her life had been since that discreet encounter some four years ago.

Yugao and Kakashi let Naruto have a lie in the following morning after considering the state in which he had returned the previous night. Once he was well rested, he could join the rest of the Konoha shinobi on the bridge – they had suspected that Zabuza would have recovered sufficiently from his previous battle and could make an other attempt on Tazuna's life soon and therefore all hands were on deck, or in this situation, the bridge, for the protection of the client.

As they headed to the bridge, Sakura thought about how Naruto had changed since she had last spied him on graduation day, looking desperately forlorn as he sulked away from the celebrating group. He had grown in her eyes, not physically, but he held a certain sharpness in his eyes and that quality was quite often seen when he conducted himself as a ninja. When the group was on their downtime, he acted like the carefree person they had all grown to know when they were younger but when it was time for his training, it was as though a switch was hit in the boy, making him all business. Naruto had been a true friend to her, Ino and the rest of their gang but with their inevitable separation post graduation, she had not been able to spend a lot of time with the blond, and from her lack of awareness of his graduation, clearly not enough time to catch up on the events leading to his arrival in Wave.

Between Sakura finishing the chakra control exercise first and heading off to guard duty on the bridge and Naruto's endless conversations with Sasuke at dinner, she had barely spoken to the boy and vowed to change that on their return journey. They had lots to catch up on and Sakura did miss the times they spent together, even if it was in a ragtag group of clan heirs and social pariahs.

Naruto felt very refreshed when he awoke the following morning. As the memories of his previous day played through his mind, he recalled how he had managed to drag himself to Tazuna's house and faintly recalled someone catching him before he fell face first onto the floor of the house.

Stretching contentedly, Naruto realized that the other beds in the room were all empty and that the house was eerily quiet. Within seconds Naruto had realized he had been abandoned by Yugao and Team 7 and bolted down the stairs to where he spotted Tsunami working quietly in the kitchen.

"Ah! Naruto-kun, you are awake. Kakashi-san said you might not be up till well past noon," Tsunami said with a smile on her face, unaware to the frustrations Naruto was feeling.

"I KNEW IT!" Naruto shouted, causing Tsunami to yelp in surprise. Naruto ran back upstairs to change his clothes and grab his sword so that he could join the other Konoha ninjas at the bridge.

As Naruto left the house, he spied Inari and turned to face them. "Can you believe they left me behind?" Naruto shouted in the direction of Inari, who had not seen the blond and was taken aback by the sheer shrillness of the boy's rant.

Naruto hopped from one tree branch to the next as fast as he could to cover the time he had lost whilst in his slumber. He was so focused on cussing out his 'team' for not involving him in their plan for the day that he nearly missed spotting a wild boar that was ruthlessly slashed up in the forest en route to the bridge. Stopping to inspect the damage, Naruto recognized the slashes had come from swords and saw that a series of slashes continued away from the boar and back in the direction that he had just come from. _Damn it._

Gato was unsure about the ambush on the bridge that he had Zabuza carry out. The ninja that had been hired for the wretched bridge builder, Tazuna's, protection were quite capable, especially when led by the infamous Kakashi Hatake. The destruction of the bridge was paramount to Gato's continued success as it would not only eliminate competition, but would also sap the morale of the people of the Land of Waves which would make them more subservient. Furthermore, he had heard that the Konoha ninja had been reinforced with two other ninjas.

Without looking up from his desk, Gato spoke in a quiet tone. "Make sure the situation on the bridge goes smoothly. Kill Zabuza if needed, and his little minion too." In a shimmer, a ninja appeared dressed in a white and blue camouflage shirt and dark blue pants. The ninja bowed low as he accepted his mission, the sunlight that beamed through a solitary window in the office reflecting off the scratched out cloud hitate he wore on his left arm.

Naruto rushed back to Tazuna's house as quickly as he could, adamant not to let anything happen to Tsunami and Inari. Naruto reached just in time to see Inari charging towards two samurai in an effort to save his mother – unarmed and outnumbered.

As the taller of the two samurai made his way to cut down the boy, Naruto intercepted his sword slash with a block from his own. The sudden block caught Waraji off guard and as a result was totally helpless to defend himself to the swift kick Naruto aimed towards the larger man's temple. As Naruto's heavy kick caught the man, he fell to the floor in a heap causing Zori to turn in the direction of the clash, inadvertently allowing Tsunami to run away from her captors and towards her son.

As Zori drew his sword upon seeing Naruto use his to beat him colleague, he sneered disdainfully at the seemingly inept ninja before him. As Naruto took his stance, Zori charged the blond in an attempt to mow him down and salvage this little side mission that Gato had assigned to the pair. Naruto dodged the vertical slash by Zori by skipping to his left and ducking under the subsequent sideways slash that followed up. Once inside Zori's guard, Naruto jumped up, with this sword in a reverse grip, and smashed at Zori's chin with the pommel of the sword, jarring the man's jaw and knocking him unconscious.

After securing a length of rope from Inari, Naruto tied the two samurai for hire to ensure they would not cause any trouble. "You were very brave Inari, a little stupid but very brave. I have to go save my friends now." Naruto said to the smaller boy, patting him on the head and bounding off through the forest towards the bridge.

Sasuke was in a conundrum and right now the conundrum had taken the shape of a loose dome made of ice mirrors. His masked opponent had stepped into one of the mirrors and immediately appeared on the faces of all the mirrors. He knew Kakashi and Yugao were fighting Zabuza together in hopes of getting a quick victory, so as to settle this matter once and for all. He would have to fight his way out of this one by himself – a prospect he was relishing.

As Kakashi spotted the trouble Sasuke was in, he instructed Yugao to help the boy out of his predicament. Acknowledging the order, Yugao took off towards the mysterious dome but was required to step back a mere ten meters from the ice dome in order to dodge a barrage of kunai that had been sent in her direction.

Turning to face her hitherto unspotted attacker, Yugao gasped as she recognized the man whose arm was still outstretched. This had been the man that had ended her ANBU career and the man that led her on to the path of being Naruto's Jonin sensei. She had mixed feelings about the circumstances that followed after her previous battle with this ninja but had no mixed feelings towards him. She loathed the man for what he had done to her arm. The pain of losing sensitivity in her left arm, and the tormented time she had fighting off the infection that followed and the subsequent ejection from her ANBU duties ensured she had but one emotion to spare towards the man that faced her –unadulterated anger.

Mere seconds after Sasuke had been the sole focus of a multitude of near simultaneous attacks from various angles, he was no more relishing the prospect of pitting wit and skill against this opponent. He was faster than Sasuke was and unfortunately, the Uchiha had not come up with a way of neutralizing the threat he posed with his senbon.

Sasuke had picked up a plethora of bruises and scrapes minutes after the contest had started. In fact, he was so bruised that in comparison he made Naruto seem unblemished after a training session with Yugao. Chuckling to himself at the thought of thinking about the blond in a situation like the one he was faced with allowed him to calm down a little and analyze the situation.

_I'm not being attacked by clones, that's for sure. These mirrors are some how enhancing his speed to a level where it is impossible for me to follow, _Sasuke thought to himself.

Naruto spotted Sasuke trapped within the ice dome, unmoving but still on his feet. Unaware that Sasuke was just analyzing the situation in the brief respite he had been afforded, Naruto feared the worst and dashed into the ice dome to check up on his friend.

As Naruto entered the dome and shook Sasuke, he snapped the boy out of his little reverie. "What! Naruto? What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked as he was shocked to find the boy within the ice dome.

"You're alive? Man I thought you were about to collapse! You were just standing there doing nothing. Geez, you had me scared there," Naruto replied, relief seeping into his voice once he realized that the raven-haired boy was not in incapacitated.

As Sasuke was about to berate the boy for not thinking before charging in, he had to focus his attentions on dodging the senbon that were let lose from the projections in the ice mirror.

"Dodge," Sasuke said, quickly alerting Naruto to the impending danger and trying to prevent his own hide from resembling that of a porcupine.

Naruto remembered his lessons with Yugao and quickly pulled his sword out to assist in ensuring he did not become a human pincushion. Unfortunately for the blond, the needles came at him from multiple 'sources' and he was unable to block the vast majority of the senbon from pricking his skin.

As the masked ninja, Haku, was forced to split his attention between Naruto and Sasuke while focusing on controlling the vast amount of chakra required sustaining the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals technique, Sasuke noticed that the speed with which both he and Naruto were being attacked had dropped fractionally.

As wave after wave of senbon were sent hurtling towards the boys, Sasuke was slowly able to discern the movements of his attacker. He had not realized that he had unlocked his Sharingan, allowing him to see the movements of his attacker better. Sasuke had assumed that it was Haku's fatigue that had led to the eventual slowing down of his attack speed, not the unlocking of the Uchiha kekkei genkai.

However, Naruto had no such luck with avoiding the relentless attack. Having blocked the brunt of the attack with various parts of his body, Naruto had barely enough strength to hold his body up, falling onto one knee and panting heavily from the exertion of dodging all those damnable senbon.

As soon as Yugao had spotted her attacker, she unsheathed her sword and charged at him. Recognizing the posture and stance that his attacker assumed, the former cloud ninja, brought up his own sword to block the attack intending to cleave his body in twain.

As they interlocked blades and fought for dominance, the former cloud shinobi decided to introduce himself to his attacker. "Ah kunoichi-san, we meet again. May I have the honor of learning your name this time?"

Scoffing at her attacker, Yugao pushed off her blade and created some separation between the two sword users. "Its common courtesy to offer your own name before you ask for someone else's."

"Where are my manners?" the cloud ninja said patronizingly. "My name in Kin Kojiro. That attack of yours on my leg has severely hampered me you know. I fully intend to make you suffer the same pain."

As the two ninja charged towards each other, they recommenced their deadly duel with the blades, intent on chopping the other's head off. As the blades entwined once again, Kin asked Yugao for her name once again.

Head butting her opponent to give her a momentary advantage, Yugao followed up with a horizontal slash, which Kin had managed to dodge by leaning back in a show of flexibility that did nothing to lend credence to his age. Sweeping the legs from under the off balanced man, Yugao knocked her opponent to the ground. "Yugao Uzuki," she said simply, intent on ending the life of the man in front of her.

As she prepared for her decisive swing, she was forced to dodge a pair of shuriken headed straight for her face, providing Kin with sufficient time to get back on his feet and assume his stance.

Kakashi was quite perplexed when Zabuza had nullified the principle advantage of the Sharingan. Fighting against a master of the art of the silent killing, in a mist so heavy that he could barely see two feet in front of him, was not conducive to his health.

Sasuke had just jumped to save Naruto from being marked with a dozen senbon off his body. He could see Haku's movements clearly now and had intercepted the masked ninja with a solid kick to the face but picked up a vast number of senbon for his troubles.

As one of the senbon attacked a nerve cluster in his neck that would put him in an unconscious state for a while, he turned around to make sure Naruto was safe for the time being. "That's the last time I can save your life now Naruto," Sasuke said, turning to face the blond before falling to the floor.

Naruto caught Sasuke before he could hit the floor and gently placed him on the bridge. Sasuke showed no signs of life as Naruto handled him. As Naruto lay his body over the prone Uchiha, he shook with raw emotion. _Sasuke died saving me and that masked idiot is going to pay for what he did._

Unknowingly, Naruto leaked out a uncontrollable amount of the Kyubi's chakra, healing his wounds at a tremendous rate and turning his fingers into claws. Charging towards the nearest mirror, Naruto drew his sword and slashed at the mirror. The force of the sword slash knocked the blade out of his hand as he spotted Haku switch from one mirror to the next.

Dodging a brace of senbon sent towards him from Haku, Naruto grabbed Haku's leg as he passed by and shot a beam of chakra from his hand, without intending to cast the Chakra Beam jutsu, catching Haku flush in the face, shattering the mask that covered his face into innumerable pieces.

As Naruto continued his attack, he was brought to a stand still when he noticed the face that was once behind the mask. _This cannot be the face of a killer. What's happening? What's happening to me?_ As Naruto's anger was replaced by his confusion, the red chakra that had seeped out of him earlier began to recede back into his body.

"Why do you wait ninja-san? I just killed your friend. Seek your revenge," Haku said to Naruto, pieces of the mask piercing his once unblemished skin, causing rivulets of blood to streak down his face.

As Naruto turned to face Sasuke, his anger boiled up once again and he decided to channel that emotion into a single solid punch that caught Haku flush on the right cheek, knocking the boy off his feet and causing him to land with an echoing thud on the bridge.

When the suffocating chakra had emitted from the direction of Naruto's and Sasuke's battle, Yugao had feared the worst. _Surely the seal could not have broken. _ Unfortunately for her, Yugao had had her own battle to focus on and despite the temporary distraction, Kin had once again gained his bearings and charged the former ANBU.

Intent on ending her battle so that she could check up on Naruto, Yugao met her attacker's charge with a charge of her own. As the pair crossed swords in a flurry of attacks, Yugao managed to dodge a horizontal slash by ducking underneath it and whilst rising upwards, slashed her opponent from right hip to left shoulder. Kin fell to the bridge lifelessly as he sputtered blood from his mouth with his final breaths.

The spike of the Kyubi's chakra had ended as soon as it started. The volatile chakra had disappeared almost instantaneously, receding back into Naruto before Kin had even hit the floor.

Kakashi was paranoid and rightfully so as he knew full well what kind of destructive ability that chakra had caused in the past. Intent on finishing his battle with Zabuza so that he could run damage control on the situation with Naruto, Kakashi summoned his dogs to help track down the elusive former Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Without warning, Zabuza was trapped by a pack of dogs, firmly holding him in place – he was completely helpless. Charging the chakra required for his patented assassination jutsu, Kakashi offered Zabuza a last chance to surrender before carrying out the execution.

As Haku wearily got up from after being clobbered by Naruto, he recognized the imminent danger that Zabuza was in and quickly teleported towards his master.

Kakashi charged forwards after Zabuza spat at his offer for surrender and thrust his arm forward. The lightning encased forearm was moments away from ending Zabuza's life when, via the use of a teleportation jutsu, Haku appeared between the two and played the role of a human shield. As Kakashi's potent jutsu impaled the younger boy, Zabuza was able to escape the threat of death, at least momentarily.

With the shock of finishing off the wrong target, Kakashi briefly realized that the flash of Kyubi's chakra had dissipated and was no longer an issue that required immediate attention. Zabuza took the opportunity to counter against Kakashi in this brief moment of distraction but was unable to land a decisive blow on his opponent. Kakashi quickly retaliated, incapacitating his opponent by rendering his arms useless.

"It's over Zabuza, give up," Kakashi said solemnly, turning to face the dead body of Haku.

As the mist cleared up, Naruto was finally able to take stock of the situation. Yugao had won her battle against some ninja that he had not seen before. Her opponent lay dead in a pool of his own blood. Yugao noticed Naruto looking around and made her way towards the blond.

Naruto noticed Sakura and Ranmaru, who had been tasked with the protection of Tazuna, run towards the direction of Sasuke. As Sakura broke down into tears clutching the beaten Uchiha fiercely, Ranmaru offered the girl what little comfort he could.

Gato arrived on the bridge to notice that Kin had been killed. It was a shame really, Kin had been an excellent ally over the past few years. _But he wasn't irreplaceable. I'll just have to hire another tool._ As he led a group of hired swords towards the fatigued ninja, Gato callously stepped on the arm of the now dead Haku.

Yugao guided Naruto towards Kakashi as the three of them, along with Zabuza, faced the prospect of fighting off against Gato's men. It would have been an easy contest had it not been for the fatigue and the incapacitated Demon of the Mist.

"Kakashi, my fight with you is over. That bastard dared to defile Haku's memory. Toss me a kunai will you?"

Kakashi said nothing as he tossed the worn out Zabuza a spare kunai, which was caught in his mouth. Without pausing, Zabuza took off against the mob in front of him, tearing apart the amateur mercenaries with reckless abandon, reaching the cowering Gato at the end of the group and separating the smuggler's head from the rest of his body without a moment's hesitation.

With the various swords he had accumulated in his back, Zabuza finally fell down to the floor. The Demon of the Mist had breathed his last breath, fighting to salvage the pride of his 'tool', defeating the oppressor of the Land of Waves.

As Kakashi and Yugao looked on, Naruto was not able to bring himself to lay eyes on the scene that unfolded in front of him. Despite all his claims to the contrary, Zabuza had truly cared for Haku and his devil may care attitude towards his own life as he mowed down the bulk of the attacking mob illustrated the true extent of his feelings.

"Naruto," Yugao called, "do not look away. You might have witnessed the death of a supposed madman, but he fought valiantly, and with purpose, until his last breath. Moreover, Zabuza was one of the greatest swordsmen ever to have lived. Pay your respects kid." Yugao had great admiration for Zabuza's skills and while she did not approve of his attempted coup d'état, she was smart enough to recognize the man's skills.

As Inari gathered the populace of Wave to put up a brave stance against the remnants of the mob, Kakashi boosted their numbers through the use of Kage Bunshin, causing the hired swords to quickly lose their bravado as they fled from the bridge.

As Naruto turned back to face the crowd that Inari had gathered, he spotted Sasuke get up from the floor with the help of Ranmaru. Sakura shouted towards Kakashi and Naruto to tell them that Sasuke was all right and Naruto breathed a huge sigh of relief. Sasuke was not dead after all and that was always good news.

Zabuza, Haku and Kin were given burials by the Konoha nin – Zabuza and Haku next to each other and Kin some ways off. After a couple of weeks, the building of the bridge was completed and Team 7's official mission had come to a close.

After a teary goodbye, Kakashi led the ninjas towards Konoha, determined to get away from all the fighting of the past two weeks in order to get some well deserved rest and relaxation. As they faded into the horizon, Tazuna had realized that they had yet to name the bridge after its completion.

"What do we call the bridge?" Tazuna asked the crowd gathered behind him.

From his place near his grandfather, Inari pulled on Tazuna's pant leg, forcing the older man to look down towards the younger boy. Looking up at his grandfather, Inari spoke three words that would be met with a chorus of approval. "Bridge of Hope," Inari said.

As soon as they hit the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Waves, the Konoha ninja took to a more relaxed formation seeing as to how they were not in hostile territory.

Kakashi had recognized that Naruto was the son of his sensei and former Hokage the minute he had laid eyes on him. While he had not made contact with the boy until his brutal beat down near a bar in Konoha, he had made moderate attempts to keep tabs on the boy.

However, Kakashi seemed to have missed out on most of the malice that surrounded the boy. He wasn't completely at fault in this regard as whenever he had spotted Naruto in the past, the blond wore a carefree smile and showed no adverse reaction to the hostile glares he received from those around him.

The adoption of Naruto into the Nara family had finally leaked crucial information that was hidden from the vast majority of the population concerning the treatment he received. While the hostility and occasional verbal abuse that followed the boy was evident for all to see, how Kakashi had managed to miss out on the instances of physical abuse had had him hang his head in shame.

It was only during that one instance behind that bar in Konoha that Kakashi was offered a true picture of the life of Naruto Uzumaki. Even in that instance, all he could offer Naruto was a glass of water and nothing more. Kakashi was more than willing, and capable, of apprehending Naruto's attacker and handing out his own brand of justice.

However, the brutality of the attack had caught him unawares and had caused him to check up on the boy instead of pursuing the unknown attacker.

Kakashi was glad that Yugao had forced her way into Naruto's life. He had heard all she had done for the boy from Yugao herself and was quite embarrassed at himself for not showing even a modicum of the initiative the purple-haired kunoichi had undertaken.

As Kakashi hopped amongst the trees, he noticed that the blond that was currently occupying his thoughts had made an effort to catch up to him after spending the vast majority of their journey talking to the other Genin.

"Ohayo Naruto-kun. What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to talk to you really. Ask you about some things about our time in Wave."

Kakashi said nothing as he motioned for Naruto to continue, gesturing with a wave of his hand.

"I know Yugao sensei and I were just a little bit late to provide any assistance to you and your team on your first encounter with Zabuza but I noticed that he had used a Bunshin technique which, according to Sasuke was a solid clone made out of water, quite unlike the one we were taught in the Academy. I was wondering if you could tell me more about the technique?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi idly wondered why Naruto chose to ask him the question and not his designated sensei, Yugao. Shrugging in indifference, Kakashi explained that Zabuza used a technique called the Mizu Bunshin which allows the user to create a clone made out of water that possessed a tenth of the original power of the creator. Kakashi elaborated that similar clones could be made out of other elements as well, such as mud, rock and even wood, and that each clone had advantages and disadvantages as unique as the elements from which they were crafted.

As Naruto digested the information Kakashi had bestowed upon him, he travelled in silence as he contemplated the information. The aspects of the clone techniques that Kakashi outlined were not the same as the Bunshin technique described in the Scroll of Seals. Naruto was slightly disappointed but had one more query on the subject matter before he gave up hope on the same.

"Kakashi-sensei, when we faced off against the mob on the bridge, you created a whole bunch of clones to scare them off. What element were those clones made out of?"

"That wasn't an elemental clone Naruto. That technique is called the Kage Bunshin and is actually marked as a kinjutsu," Kakashi replied, quite happy to play the role of educator to the ever inquisitive blond.

"That's it! That's the one! I saw this technique in the Scroll of Seals when I was tricked by Mizuki-sensei," Naruto paused as the incident was brought up in his head and his face contorted in disgust at being duped so simply. Regaining his composure, Naruto continued, "It is a Bunshin technique that splits the user's chakra in half, creating a very solid and very capable clone."

Kakashi chuckled as he saw the whirlwind of emotions play on Naruto's face – from excitement to anguish to neutral in a matter of seconds. "You have good recall Naruto. Yes the Kage Bunshin technique allows you to split your chakra and it is precisely for this reason that it is a forbidden jutsu. If the user overextends himself trying to create too many clones, he could split his chakra so many times that the original would have too little chakra to sustain himself – leading to either chakra exhaustion or worse – death!"

"But you made so many clones when faced against the mob and that was after your fight with Zabuza. Are you saying you could have died?" Naruto asked, face morphing into a look of stupendous disbelief.

"Not exactly. I have formidable chakra control and quite a large reserve of chakra as well, though not as large as yours. Since we were fighting in a thick mist, Zabuza negated any benefits I would get from using the Sharingan so I saved a lot of chakra by deactivating it."

Naruto thought about what he had learnt from Kakashi and decided to risk learning the technique anyway, or atleast try to.

"So can you teach me the technique Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi was caught unawares by Naruto's request. He had just outlined that using this technique could be detrimental to one's health and yet the blond had callously asked to be taught the very same technique.

Before he could respond, Naruto continued. "I know you said its dangerous but you also said that I have a larger chakra reserve than yours. Surely I can handle the technique even if my control isn't as good as yours."

"Naruto, you should know that there is also one more aspect of the technique that makes it quite dangerous to the user. The clones transfer all their memories back to their user once they have dispelled. Dispel a ton of clones simultaneously and the mental backlash you might receive could be a shock to your brain. You might turn into a vegetable unable to function anymore. Surely it's not worth it!" Kakashi said, trying to convince the boy to change his mind about learning the technique. If Naruto was able to recall the information from the scroll about the principles of the technique, there was a good chance that he learnt the hand sign associated with it as well – it was a fairly simple one after all.

_Memory transfer huh? _Naruto thought to himself. "So does that mean that if a clone read a book, I would know what it would learn once it is dispelled?"

"Yes, that is the principle behind it," Kakashi replied. Kakashi decided to try another tactic instead after being unable to convince the boy to change his mind.

"Naruto, if you wanted to learn the technique so bad, why didn't you learn it the first time, when you saw the technique outlined in the Scroll of Seals?"

"The Bunshin jutsu was what got me into my mess all those months ago. If I had to learn one technique before my allotted time, no way was I going to waste my time learning a technique I was doomed to fail."

"But after I saw you and Zabuza use your techniques in combat, learning a clone jutsu like that would be awesome. Can you imagine the damage I could do with that technique – both in battle," Naruto paused as he rubbed his hands in glee, snickering at himself in pleasure, "and outside of it?"

Kakashi paled at the prospect of Naruto using a forbidden jutsu to unload a veritable torrent of pranks on the unsuspecting populace of Konoha. Kakashi could not ascertain whether using Kage Bunshin to pull off pranks would be at the top of Naruto's priority list but he knew for sure that things in Konoha would get a lot more interesting if the blond did learn the technique.

All of a sudden, Kakashi felt the urge to teach the boy the forbidden jutsu. There was a good chance that Naruto had remembered the hand sign required to execute the technique and only refrained from practicing it due to his aversion for the Bunshin variants prior to his mission in the Land of Waves. Moreover, it would be safer if the boy would learn the technique under supervision, lest he do irreparable damage to himself.

After convincing himself, Kakashi decided to let Naruto know of his thoughts. "Well I need to speak to Yugao-san first. She is your Jonin-sensei after all and therefore in charge of your training."

"Yatta!" Naruto exclaimed, so enthusiastic and excited about this latest development that he nearly missed the branch he had intended to skip off. Quickly regaining his footing, but not all of his pride as the rest of the group stared at his antics, Naruto continued on his merry way towards the large gates of Konoha.


	10. Practice Makes Perfect

Sword Shadow

Chapter 10 – Practice Makes Perfect

As soon as the members of Team 7 and Team Yugao checked in at the gates of Konoha, they were ushered towards the Hokage's office. Naruto was still ecstatic about the prospect of learning the Kage Bunshin technique after seeing the variants of the clone technique being put to good use in the mission to the Land of Waves. As they waited outside the office's double doors, Naruto went over to talk to the Hokage's secretary.

"Hello Naruto-kun. You sure seem excited! I take it your C-rank mission to Wave was successful?" Mikoto Yamanaka asked her fellow blond.

"Hai! It was awesome. We met Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist, you know?"

Mikoto looked shocked and turned to face the two Jonin in charge for signs of confirmation. A slight nod from Yugao confirmed Naruto's story but as she turned to face the blond she had realized that Naruto had continued rambling about the mission without pause.

A beep of her telephone pried her away from listening to Naruto's story telling as she held her index finger up to interrupt the blond. After listening for a few short seconds, Mikoto turned towards Yugao and Kakashi and said told them they could bring their teams into the office for the debriefing.

"Tell me the rest of the story on your way out Naruto-kun," Mikoto called out to the blond who seemed to be affronted by the interruption to his story narration.

Turning around, with a quick thumbs up and a smile, to the aged secretary, Naruto walked past the burgundy double doors that led to the Hokage's office.

"…And then Inari rounded up the majority of the Wave populace and together the numbers scared off the remaining hired swords," Kakashi finished his account of the mission, punctuated with additions from Yugao, Naruto and Sasuke where appropriate.

Silence lingered in the Hokage's office for a long time and the only sound in the office was the light shuffling of clothes and the crackle of the tobacco as the Hokage lit his pipe with a low level Katon jutsu. As he exhaled the smoke out in a long and deliberate breath, Hiruzen finally addressed the gathering in front of him.

"So the Demon of the Mist is no more huh? Who would have guessed his last act would be so… noble," Hiruzen chuckled to himself. The Konoha Genin who witnessed the slaughter of the mob and Gato, were hard pressed to attach a sense of nobility to all the splattered blood and while the Kakashi and Yugao understood the sentiments of their leader, they chose wisely to remain mute.

Upon a lack of reaction from those in his office, Hiruzen decided to change the vein of the conversation. "Congratulations Team 7 and Team Yugao on completing your first C-rank mission. As it was unofficially bumped into an A-rank mission, you shall be compensated appropriately and the records shall be changed to show the same," Hiruzen finished.

"For the next week, you will be on the standby list. Think of it as a vacation, rest up and recharge your batteries but you've had a taste of the real world now – train and keep your skills sharp. Dismissed," Hiruzen finished.

As the Genin bowed before they left the room, Sasuke and Naruto noticed that Kakashi and Yugao had not made a move to follow them. Noticing their respective charges waiting for them at the door, the Jonin signaled to them to leave and that they would be joined shortly.

Sasuke nodded in acceptance of the silent order and dragged the more reluctant Naruto out through the double doors and into the hallway. Once the door behind him was shut, Naruto resigned himself to the fact that he was definitely not privy to the conversation on the other side of the door and walked towards Mikoto Yamanaka and continued to regale her with the details of his latest adventure.

"Hokage-sama," Yugao began, "Naruto has asked to be taught the Kage Bunshin technique. I fear he noticed the technique when he was tricked by Mizuki to look into the Scroll of Seals." Hiruzen looked on quizzically, choosing to let Yugao continue with her explanation.

"I believe with his large chakra reserves and his aptitude towards the ninja arts, this would be a valuable asset but as the Taju Kage Bunshin technique is a forbidden technique, I would like your approval on the matter," finished Yugao.

Hiruzen said nothing as he turned towards Kakashi to hear what the Copy Cat ninja had had to say about the matter. Kakashi thought briefly about what he wanted to say and then addressed his leader.

"He is quiet fixated with the technique after having seen Zabuza using the Mizu Bunshin technique to good effect. Further more, I had used the Kage Bunshin in Wave as well, and he is adamant he learns the technique. Personally, I think he still remembers the hand seal for the technique, which would mean he would train in secret if we rejected the idea. Considering the effect the technique could have on the user, it would be safer if he was taught the Kage Bunshin technique under supervision," Kakashi said.

"Well looks like I really don't have a choice on the matter, do I? At least I know with the Kyuubi's reserves backing the boy up, the technique will be much less harmful to him than any other Genin," Hiruzen sighed before he took another puff on his pipe, nodding his assent before the two shinobi left him to his own devices.

As Yugao stepped out of the office, she saw Naruto showing off his new sword to Mikoto, theatrically reenacting scenes of his fight against Zori and Waraji.

"All right Naruto, its time to go," Yugao said, pulling the blond away from the bemused secretary by the scruff of his collar.

As they exited the Hokage Tower, Team 7 split in different directions after being dismissed by Kakashi. Naruto heard Ranmaru mumble something about food as he walked towards his home and Sakura ran away as fast as she could to get her well-deserved, and especially overdue, bath.

"All right Naruto, Yugao will be in charge of your Kage Bunshin training. Just promise me you'll be careful when you learn the technique and when you use it. Remember what I told you about the memory recovery and use it well," Kakashi said, waving a lazy goodbye as he disappeared in a Shunshin.

Without even looking down to face Naruto, Yugao knew the blond was ready to learn the technique right away. "Not today, Naruto. Go home, rest, and relax. Go spend time with your family. I'll meet you in two days time at our old training ground okay?"

Naruto's face fell as he realized that he would not be learning the Kage Bunshin technique today but lit up at the prospect of spending time with his family. He had not been doing much of the same since his graduation and figured he would make the best use of these next few days, spending quality time with the Naras.

Smiling contentedly, Naruto bowed before he left, jogging down the path from the Hokage's office towards the Nara clan house.

As Naruto approached the gates of the Nara clan compound, he heard the bellowing voice of Shikaku. "Ah! The prodigal son returns!" Shikaku said with a laugh. "Naruto, I know as a ninja you are called away at a moment's notice but I'd much rather hear it from you than the Hokage's messengers. Your mom and I have been worried sick for you."

Naruto waited for Shikaku while the elder of the two made strides towards the gates that blocked the Nara compound from the rest of Konoha. Naruto felt guilty for his sudden absence and his guilt was further compounded by Shikaku's reference to himself and Yoshino as Naruto's parents.

Naruto was absolutely delighted to be adopted by the Naras, but a year had passed and Naruto still referred to them both by their names and not as 'Mother' and 'Father'. It was a little disconcerting to Naruto to call them such when he knew nothing of his own biological parents. To their credit, neither Shikaku nor Yoshino pressurized the boy into the address but they did feel very protective about the boy and Naruto could not justify to himself that he reciprocated their affection in kind. He would make it up to them and the next few days provided the perfect opportunity.

As Naruto and Shikaku approached the house, they spotted Shikamaru sitting on the porch of the house, looking blankly at an open shogi board. Shikaku looked from Shikamaru to Naruto and spoke in a voice loud enough so that his voice just carried over to the bored looking boy, "And here Naruto, we have your anti-thesis, the laziest boy in all of Konoha, I introduce you to Shikamaru Nara!"

Naruto laughed at the younger Nara's expense as Shikamaru shot a sour look towards the Nara clan head. Shikaku could not resist joining in with this adopted son as they finally reached the threshold of the house. Shikaku sat down on the other side of the open board while he ushered Naruto into the house to meet Yoshino.

Shikamaru finally smiled as he set up the pieces on his side of the board and offered to do the same for his father, who chose to set up his own.

As it was nearing lunch time, Yoshino was preparing the meal in the kitchen and was just dicing up some vegetables when she heard Naruto.

"Yoshino-san, I am back! I am sorry I didn't have time to tell you I was leaving, it was an emergency," Naruto said coyly, scratching the back of his neck with his right hand and offering a sheepish smile in hopes of placating any lingering anger he might have caused.

"Don't worry about it Naruto-kun. I know what the life of a ninja is like. Having said that, I would like to know a bit about what's going on. It seems that Yugao-san has claimed a monopoly on your time since even before you became Genin," Yoshino told the blond, feigning anger at the last part of her statement by bringing up her rolling pin and making a threatening gesture, smile firmly upon her face nonetheless.

Naruto gulped involuntarily but quickly realized that Yoshino meant no harm and so he offered to help out in the kitchen while the two of them caught up on recent events.

When most of the preparations for the meal were done, Naruto excused himself to join the men of the house. Naruto went to his room, changed his clothes and deposited his sword near his bed and went to see what Shikamaru and Shikaku were doing with the strange looking board.

"So Shikamaru, how come you are at home? Don't you have any missions or training to do?" Naruto asked the younger of the two Naras.

"Asuma-sensei was requested for a mission by the Fire Daimyo and so he is off for a few days. We have the time to rest and train."

"That's great, I have a couple of days off as well, we should train together," said Naruto enthusiastically until he spotted the non-committal roll of the lazy Nara's eyes.

Shikaku laughed as he moved a piece on the board to another spot, causing Shikamaru to cringe inwardly. "It's a good idea. The two of you should train together. By the way Naruto, did you get a sword from Yugao-san? I could have sworn I saw you wear one on your way in."

Shikamaru had noticed the scabbard and sword combination as well and was curious about this latest development. Naruto recounted the events at Wave to the two Nara men and described his training with Yugao after their encounter with Zabuza and Haku. After he finished his story, Naruto looked up to see Shikamaru's jaw halfway down to the floor of the porch and Shikaku's eyes nearly bugging out of his sockets.

"Zabuza? You mean the Demon of the Mist? He died? Saving you?" Shikaku sounded stupendous.

"Well I don't think it was his intention, but because of him, we didn't have to fight Gato's thugs, so I guess he did save us."

Shikaku was still spellbound, the Demon of the Mist had died and his last act had, intentionally or not, saved his adopted son. The image of the bloodthirsty warrior and the account of from his son were totally contrasting each other and he wondered how the man went from beast to savior.

"Did you tell your mother?" Shikaku asked, unable to come up with any good follow up question pertinent to the mission.

Naruto shook his head. "I didn't want to get her concerned with what happened. So I skipped most of the gory details."

Shikaku laughed boisterously as he said, "Don't worry Naruto. She has seen me return from missions in various states and knows how to handle being part of a shinobi family. I am sure she appreciates your concern but feel free to tell her whatever is not classified information. She can more than handle herself."

Naruto nodded and sat silently as he watched the two men continue their game until they were all summoned to lunch. The two Naras left their game undisturbed on the porch and decided to come back to it after the midday meal.

"Shikamaru, could you teach me that game you were playing?"

Shikamaru turned towards the blond and smiled. "Sure." He would have a new opponent to match wits against– sure Naruto wasn't the sharpest opponent he would have, that honour belonged to his father, but Naruto was known to be unpredictable and that would make his games fun at the very least.

As they sat for lunch, Naruto decided to tell Yoshino all the details of his mission, which elicited appropriately timed shock gasps from the only female in the house as Naruto detailed the specifics of the Konoha ninjas' encounter with the recently deceased Demon of the Mist. In an effort to offer comfort to her adopted son, Yoshino piled on more food onto Naruto's plate – a form of comfort offering she had subconsciously attained from all her experiences with the Akimichi family.

After recounting the events of his mission, Naruto listened to Shikamaru as the Nara explained the basic rules of the game to the blond so that he could follow the game between the two Naras when it recommenced after their break for lunch.

Naruto scratched his head as he watch the two Naras duke it out over the shogi board. Shikaku tried his best to explain the function of each of the pieces without giving away his strategy. Shikamaru had yet to best his father at a game of shogi but Shikaku knew that the boy was getting ever closer to changing that statistic. With every move Shikaku made, Naruto tried to understand its true purpose but failed to do so on more than the majority of the occasions. However, he noticed that he was not the only one exasperated by the clan head's strategy as Shikamaru was concentrating as best as he could, perspiring in the effort, accentuated by the midday heat.

Within three short moves, Shikaku had Shikamaru cornered and the younger boy was forced to concede defeat yet again. "That was much closer than all our other games Shika. Well played!"

Frustrated at not being able to best his father again, he crumpled in a heap on the porch, laying on his back whilst he watched the clouds. However, as Shikaku began explaining his strategy to Naruto, Shikamaru perked up and began paying attention to their conversation without changing his expression or posture.

Over the next two days, Naruto played several games of Shogi with Shikamaru and was beaten in every single one of them with a ruthless efficiency. If Shikamaru was as stealthy and sneaky in combat as he was with his shogi, Naruto had no doubt he would make an excellent assassin. All would seem fine until Shikamaru would move a single piece, which would ensnare the blond in a web of strategy and cunning. At the end of the first day, Shikamaru had given Naruto a beginner's book into shogi strategy. However, even after applying everything he had learnt about strategy, Naruto was helpless to Shikamaru's ploys.

Taking a leaf out of his father's book, Shikamaru decided to offer the boy some well-deserved praise. "You have picked up the game really well Naruto. Not a lot of people understand the game so well so quickly," Shikamaru offered in compliment as he stepped back into the house.

Naruto perked up at hearing the praise from his adopted brother. "But you are still fifty years away from beating me at this game"

Naruto's smile faded as he picked up a random piece and flung it with unerring accuracy at the back of Shikamaru's head. As the Nara turned to face his attacker, Naruto stuck his tongue out at the boy and bolted towards the wooded area that surrounded much of the clan compound. He had had his revenge, now it was time to train.

Naruto arrived at a clearing he used for training whilst in the clan compound and began molding chakra in his right hand. A faint whisper of blue chakra accumulated in his hands for several seconds before it dissipated into the winds. Growling to himself, Naruto sat down on the forest floor and tried to remember what he had read about the technique in the Scroll of Seals.

The first part of the technique was to gather chakra in the palm of the one's hand and use it to levitate a leaf over a period of time at a fixed distance away from the palm. Naruto's control had vastly improved since their training exercises in the Land of Waves, however, he was unable to sustain the technique for a sufficient amount of time. Naruto was able to vaguely recall using the technique on Mizuki and Haku but could not draw upon the specifics to help him recreate the effect.

Sighing, Naruto practiced his tree walking for a while longer in hopes that it would help with his training for the Chakra Beam technique. After completing several runs from top to bottom, Naruto stopped training his control and reverted back to improving the Chakra Beam. Naruto placed a leaf on his palm and began gathering chakra watching as the leaf rose a few inches and hovered at the pre-determined distance for a while. It was progress, but Naruto could not judge if it was sufficient progress.

Deciding that he would need to use the technique from both his palms, Naruto began training in the first part of the technique with his left hand. Naruto had realized very early that if he was to become a swordsman, a technique such as the Chakra Beam, would be ill suited to him if he was only able to use the technique with this sword hand. This would mean that Naruto would have to drop his sword in order to use the technique, and so the blond decided to learn it with both hands so that it afforded him versatility.

As the light began to fade, Naruto decided to head home and freshen up before dinner. He would start training with Yugao in earnest tomorrow and there was no point if he wore himself out the night before.

After a quick breakfast, Naruto had gone to Training Ground 4 to meet Yugao. As he had arrived a little earlier than the planned 8 o'clock start time, he decided to limber up by doing some light exercises. Yugao arrived in a shunshin just as Naruto was about to finish up his exercises and waited until he did. She knew his routine; it would only take a few moments.

Deciding to make her presence known, Yugao shunshined from her spot in the tree into the clearing that was their designated meeting place.

"All right Naruto, the Hokage has approved you learning the Kage Bunshin jutsu but I need to make you aware of the risks of the technique before I can teach you how to do. The technique creates clones that are actual copies of your body, which means they have a physical presence. Furthermore, the technique divides the amount of chakra the user uses evenly into the clones that were created. I am sure I don't need to tell you what might happen if you were to create more clones than you can handle," Yugao said solemnly, letting the words sink in before she continued with the appropriate hand signs for the technique.

"The Kage Bunshin, like Kakashi-san told you, can be used to multiply your training time. Since you gain all the experience of the dispelled clones, this technique is very useful in learning a lot of things in a lot less time. Having said that, the mental backlash of dispelling several clones simultaneously and assimilating all that information will be severe, so once again, make sure you know how much stress you can handle," Yugao continued, watching Naruto as he nodded at all the right times to show that he understood the risks of the technique. Yugao wasn't completely convinced with his response but decided to move on regardless.

Naruto waited patiently, he had remembered all the details about the Taju Kage Bunshin technique from the Scroll of Seals and realized that since the whole process required permission from the Hokage, such matters needed to be addressed. Nonetheless, the blond was getting jumpy and began to slightly rock back and forth on his heels in anticipation.

Watching the swaying boy, Yugao decided it was enough of the talk and time to get into the action. Showing Naruto the simple handseal required for the technique, she created a clone herself to demonstrate how useful it could be.

"Unlike the Bunshin jutsu, this body is real which means it can do physical damage, and since it has its own chakra, it can cast jutsu as well," Yugao finished as the clone unleashed a low level Katon jutsu away from the group.

After a few hours, Naruto had managed to successfully complete the technique. Under Yugao's watchful eye and bountiful advice, Naruto had managed to split his chakra effectively enough to make a suitable shadow clone.

"Let me show you something," Yugao said as she made another clone, her previous one having dispelled ages ago. As Yugao's shadow clone led Naruto's own away from their originals Yugao continued. "Remember what I told you about learning from your clones?" she asked.

Unaware of what was really happening, Naruto just nodded dumbly, trying to figure out what the point of taking the clone away was. With a sudden influx of information, Naruto proceeded to obey a silent command and ducked his head to the ground. Just as he made the motion, Yugao swung her right arm in a chopping motion parallel to the ground in an attempt to swipe at Naruto's head.

"Very good!" the purple haired kunoichi said, genuinely impressed at the speed with which Naruto was able to process the information and act upon it. Sure she could have struck him without giving him the amount of time she did but it was his first attempt at the memory assimilation from a dispelled Kage Bunshin – it was only fair.

Naruto rose from his crouched position in the ground and faced his teacher, his jaw hanging loosely from the disbelief that his teacher would to attempt attack him. "What are you doing? You were going straight for my temple! You could have knocked me out!" said the blond, aghast at the execution of this teaching method.

Yugao merely offered a shrug. "Train in the technique. Focus on channeling the right amount of chakra you need to make a set number of clones. Make a pair, then five, then seven and ten. When you can do that we will continue with your kenjutsu training," Yugao said, deciding to stand in the shade of the trees as the sun shone brighter.

Naruto strained to focus on channeling the right amount of chakra for the technique. This was much harder than creating a single clone. Focusing on creating the clones was especially different when the sensation of splitting your chakra was so alien. Nonetheless, once he was accustomed to the feeling, it wasn't quite as uncomfortable and Naruto was able to meet Yugao's target in just over an hour. Before he could dispel the ten clones he had so painstakingly created, Yugao appeared out of air in front of him.

"Don't get rid of them just yet. Why don't you make them do the chakra training exercises you learnt in Wave? We can grab some lunch before we start," Yugao said.

"So everything the clones learn, I learn when they are dispelled right?" Naruto asked, clogs turning in his head as he wondered about the true potential of this feature of the technique.

Yugao just nodded in response and began to walk away from the clearing and towards the shade, where a shadow clone she had created had brought and kept some packed lunches for the pair of them.

"Hmmm…" Naruto thought to himself as he turned to face his clones. "Okay, split up into two groups. One of you do the tree climbing exercise that Yugao-sensei asked us to do and the rest of you work on doing the Chakra Beam. Work on adding some power into the technique for the right hand and some control for the left. Thanks guys!" Naruto shouted the last bit over his back as he jogged up to join Yugao for lunch.

Lunch was a simple affair consisting of the bento box that Yugao's clone had prepared for the two of them. It was only when Naruto finally sat down on the grass did he realize how tired he was. Collapsing to the ground in an undignified heap, Naruto ate his share of the food in the box after an eager exclamation of "Itadakimasu".

Yugao let Naruto rest up for a while longer after all the food was consumed. It wasn't needed in any case since Naruto showed remarkable rates of recovery amongst shinobi. Yugao would be hardpressed to match Naruto's progress with the Kage Bunshin jutsu, but in her defense, she did not possess a massive chakra battery in the form of the Kyubi nestled in under her navel.

"All right then, lets go check up on your clones and see what they've managed to get up to," Yugao said as she got up, dusting the seat of her trousers to rid of all the grass that might have clung on during their lunch break.

As they re-entered the clearing, Yugao was surprised to see a group of Naruto clone's near sprinting the height of the trees, dodging branches with ease as they reached their respective trees' zenith.

"You can dispel your clones now Naruto. I see you have pretty much mastered the tree climbing exercise. Remind me to teach you the next phase of the chakra control exercises when we have some time." As Naruto dispelled the ten clones, he received a huge amount of information as well as replenished some of his chakra.

"All right. Come on then. Know that you know the Kage Bunshin technique, I can teach you the forms required for the Dance of the Crescent Moon," Yugao said.

The rest of the day involved Naruto using his shadow clones to learn the advanced kenjutsu form. Yugao decided to teach Naruto the form by making him experience it first hand. By the end of the day, Yugao had gone through a veritable army of susceptible Naruto clones, slashing the clones in spectacular fashion.

Yugao told Naruto that the point of this method was to learn the approach of the technique and the principles behind this form. It was quite a difficult thing to master at such a young age but Yugao had felt Naruto had the aptitude to understand the basics and build up the technique as suited him best.

Naruto left the training ground feeling absolutely mortified – 'he' had been slashed up so many times by Yugao that he felt a little queasy. Every time Naruto would be 'executed' Yugao would come up to him and ask him questions about the form – what he learnt, what was different from the previous attack and what he would do to change things. It was a refreshing change of pace but that did not mean he was completely at ease with watching a copy of himself get chopped up mercilessly. Naruto was beginning to question Yugao's sensitivity and sanity – this was the same woman who went out of her way to protect him and instruct him. However, when Yugao had a sword in her hand, Naruto could have sworn she was no longer the caring teacher he once had – she was the stone cold killer that was once a part of ANBU.

The next day, Naruto entered the clearing at Training Ground 4 to see two Yugao's waiting for him. Confused, Naruto made his way to the pair of them while they continued talking.

"All right Naruto. Since you've mastered the Tree Climbing exercise, my clone will teach your clones the next phase of the Chakra control program. Make about ten clones and ask them to follow my own," said the Yugao on the right of Naruto, indicating herself to be the creator and not the copy.

Doing as instructed, Naruto created the ten clones and the near dozen copies wordlessly followed the Yugao clone away from the clearing.

"So, what exactly is the next phase of the Chakra control program?" Naruto asked, curious as to what his clones were going to be subject to.

"Water walking. Unlike with the Tree Climbing exercise, you need to constantly shift your chakra to match your bodies need to sustain itself on the surface of the water – fail to do so and you'll sink below," replied Yugao.

Nodding in understanding, Naruto waited as he watched Yugao pull a pair of ankle weights out of the rucksack she had tossed on the clearing floor before Naruto had arrived.

Naruto's dreaded speed training session had begun, it was critical that he increased his speed so that he could execute the Dance of the Crescent Moon with perfection. Yugao had explained that the technique utilized the Kage Bunshin to attack the opponent from multiple angles and if the speed of the user was not up to par, a skillful opponent could counter the attack.

While Naruto had yet to learn the technique in earnest, for he had only seen Yugao use it, she explained that if the basics of the technique were not mastered, then the technique would be rendered useless – there was a reason it was marked an A-rank kenjutsu technique after all.

Over the next few days, Naruto trained almost exclusively with his speed under the hawk like gaze of Yugao. She pointed out aspects of his running style that could be improved and how he should alter his style when approaching an enemy with his sword in hand.

Naruto only trained in the basic kenjutsu since the break Team 7 and Team Yugao had been afforded since the mission to the Land of Waves. Yugao had certainly noticed the improvement in Naruto's use of the sword and was quite pleased with herself for nurturing such a talent.

At the end of every day, Yugao would ask Naruto to dispel the clones he had created earlier in the day and try the Water Walking exercise for himself. Having accumulated the memories of his clones, Naruto wisely chose to strip down to his bare essentials lest he had to return home, drenched in water.

"All right Naruto. Let's see what your clones have learnt from mine," Yugao instructed Naruto.

Naruto had learned the technique within two days with the help of his clone and Yugao was pleased with his performance. As Naruto balanced himself on the water shakily he looked up to his sensei with a proud smile on his face.

"Yugao-sensei! I got it. I can water walk now," said Naruto, trying to take a few shaky experimental steps to prove his point.

Just as he turned to face Yugao once again, he saw her throw a kunai at his direction. The projectile was slow moving but headed directly for Naruto's left shoulder. Panicking, Naruto turned hastily in an attempt to dodge the thrown dagger but instantaneously lost his footing on the surface of the water, falling in the waist deep water of the stream they had been practicing in.

Dragging himself onto the bank of the river, Naruto coughed out the water he had unintentionally swallowed. As he regained his composure, Naruto pointed an accusatory finger at his teacher.

"What are you doing?" Naruto shouted, waving his finger around as if to emphasize his displeasure. "You could have seriously hurt me there!"

"Water walking isn't a technique you can use to knock out an opponent, it's an accessory for a ninja. If you cannot maintain your balance after a single attack, you can't win a battle on water. To truly master water walking, you need to be able to move on water as subconsciously as you would on land. Remember that because the next part of your water walking training will be done by yourself, with your own clones aiming to knock you down with your own kunai!" said Yugao, driving home the point to the blond that his training was never well and truly finished.

Naruto attempted to sputter a response but quickly conceded the point. If he was up against Zabuza in a battle on water, he was sure that the Demon of the Mist would spare him no quarter.

"That's it for today. You have the day off tomorrow so rest up. We will see if we can get a mission soon," Yugao told the blond, causing him to light up at the prospect of another mission.


	11. No Point Crying Over Spilt Blood

Sword Shadow

Chapter 11 – No Point Crying Over Spilt Blood

While Yugao had given Naruto a few days off to recuperate, the restless blond decided to take Yugao's words to heart and trained his water walking to the best of his abilities. To ensure he maximized his time, Naruto created ten clones when he reached the banks of the river that flowed through Konoha and instructed them to split up into three groups. With two groups of three formed and a group of four, Naruto spoke to his clones.

"All right guys. Yugao sensei says we need to be walking on water as naturally as walking on the ground. So we need to be able to maneuver as well as we can. One group of three will be taking shots at me, and the other groups will rotate with each other so they don't get tired. We all have some blunt kunai I borrowed from Shikaku so a single blow shouldn't knock any of you guys out."

Naruto led the way to a spot on the bank as he heard a chorus of "Hai" behind him. As the three groups split up, leaving a sufficient amount of space between each of them, Naruto stood on the water. As he was furthest upstream, Naruto cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled in the direction of the other two teams.

"Let's start slowly and then pick up the pace. Don't go ballistic from the get go! Lets do this!"

Making slow but definite progress as the sun rose to its zenith, Naruto decided to dispel the seven remaining clones. Three had picked up injuries severe enough to make them dispel by themselves, causing Naruto and his team of clones to redistribute themselves in order to carry out the training.

The first time one of the clones got dispelled, Naruto was temporarily distracted and got hit with a kunai on his right hip. Were he not the jinchuriki of the Kyubi, his hip would have definitely bruised, however, by the time Naruto broke for lunch, there was not even a mark on his body to show that he had been struck once. Naruto could definitely appreciate the benefits of being the container for the Kyubi now that the Naras had diminished his status as social pariah considerably since his adoption.

Naruto continued this training regimen for the two days he had been excused from Yugao's training. He would then spend the rest of the day with the Naras, playing shogi with Shikamaru and Shikaku, when available, or running errands from Yoshino. Since dinner was an early affair in the Nara household, Naruto would often step out into the woods surrounding the house and train his Chakra Beam and work on his kenjutsu forms.

Shikaku was returning from the Yamanaka house after a post dinner drink with his old teammates when he heard a grunt of exertion coming from a little ways off his house. Knowing that it was Naruto training, he decided to investigate what exactly was driving the boy so hard. _I wish Shikamaru would train with at least with half of this kid's enthusiasm!_

As he neared the clearing where Naruto was training, Shikaku was careful to make his presence hidden lest he distract the shinobi in training. As he made his way closer to the clearing, Shikaku saw Naruto stare into his right palm with a perplexed look on his face. _What are you up to, Naruto? _wondered the Jonin Commander.

Naruto's next action caused the breath in Shikaku to hitch involuntarily. As Naruto concentrated raw chakra into his palm, a loosely formed 'tube' of chakra emanated away from the boy. As Naruto exerted all his energies into focusing the burst of chakra into the form of a beam, he failed to notice Shikaku watching him from the shadows.

Naruto looked like a carbon copy of what Shikaku imagined a young Minato Namikaze would look like. The shock of yellow hair, uncontrollable and wild, like its owner, blowing in the wind as a mass of blue chakra formed in the palm. Shikaku had only seen the Rasengan in action once during a battle in the Third Shinobi War and he had almost missed it because of the pace at which the Fourth Hokage had moved.

Shikaku knew he would never forget the sight from that day, all those years ago, but today he was confronted with a sight that was haunting in its own right. Not because of the wanton destruction that followed in the wake of the user's path. Instead it was because of the undeniable similarity between the two men that currently occupied his mind. Naruto, whilst skinnier than the fully-grown Minato, was a near perfect replica of the Fourth Hokage with the addition of those strange sets of whisker marks that adorned his adopted son's cheeks.

Shikaku was woken from his stupor when he heard the sound of a twig being snapped under his foot. He cursed himself for being so careless whilst conducting his observation of Naruto. He had lost himself to his melancholic memories so much so that he lost awareness of his surroundings. Hearing the snap of the twig, Naruto turned around to the source of the sound to see Shikaku walk towards him.

"Come on Naruto, its late. Let's get back home already!"

"You're back early today," said Naruto, as he picked up his sword from the forest floor and walked towards the older man. When Naruto finally reached Shikaku, he waved his arm in the older man's face, whose complexion had significantly paled.

"You all right there, old man? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Naruto said with a smile as he stopped waving his arm and stood next to Shikaku.

Shikaku laughed in response, the voice emanating from his throat a mixture of a myriad of feelings, most predominantly disbelief. As he regained control of his senses, Shikaku draped an arm over the shorter boy's shoulder and guided the pair home.

The next day, Yugao summoned Naruto to meet her at the entrance of the Hokage Tower at nine in the morning. As Naruto reached his destination ahead of schedule, he waited alongside the entrance, half-heartedly listening to the conversations of the people filtering in and out of the building.

One particularly animated conversation between two Chunin caught Naruto's attention. It was focused on the "Chunin Exam" and fascinated Naruto endlessly. However, much to his dismay, the two Chunin walked past him and into the building and that was all Naruto heard about the topic at hand.

Curious, he decided to ask Yugao for more details about this so-called "Chunin Exam". Naruto had hoped that the Chunin Exam would be void of all the drama that followed his Genin Exam. That had been a disaster of epic proportions and Naruto was adamant that should he be promoted to Chunin, it would be because he passed the exam as per its requirements and not because of any extenuating circumstances.

As Yugao appeared, Naruto asked about the Chunin Exam as he dutifully followed her up the stairs and towards the Hokage's office.

"The Chunin Exam is an opportunity for the Genin of various countries to progress in rank. It is also a show of strength by the respective countries – allowing the many prospective clients in the audience and around the continent to gauge the strength of the countries. The ninja who represent their village the best attract the custom of many clients, which allows them in turn to get the better paid missions," Yugao said as they reached the landing of the top floor. "In fact, this year, the Exam is held in Konoha!"

Before Naruto could question Yugao any further about the Chunin Exam, they were stood at attention before their commander, waiting for an assignment.

Naruto quickly noticed that Team Yugao was not the only group of ninja in the office. Beside them stood a standard team of Genin led by an eccentric and odd man, in a suit of green that was, unfortunately, not the most shocking aspect of his appearance. That honour belonged to the shiny bowl of head that framed the thickest set of eye brows Naruto had ever seen complimenting a smile so dazzling that Naruto had to squint to minimize the light that reflected of the pearly whites and into his eyes.

"Hello Yugao. I see you've picked up an apprentice," Guy said, noticing the sword in the black scabbard on the hip of the blond who was clearly Minato's son and therefore the jinchuriki of the Kyubi.

"Gai," said Yugao in acknowledgement of her companion, with a slight bow to show her mark of respect for the older ninja. "This is Naruto," she finished, affectionately patting the blond's mess of hair, affirming to Guy that she had indeed picked up an apprentice.

Embarrassed at being treated like a child, Naruto pouted as he made to move Yugao's arm from the top of his head. The girlish giggle that followed caused Naruto to finally observe the three Genin that were part of the team. To his horror, a miniature version of the person Yugao referred to as 'Guy' stood at attention by the side of the group's leader. The boy was a carbon copy of the taller man on his side – from the style of clothing down to the hair cut he wore. The girl that giggled earlier had her hair in Chinese-style buns and wore a pink sleeveless blouse that complemented her dark green pants. The last member of the team had long black hair tied in a loose ponytail but the most striking feature of this person was his pupil-less eyes.

"Shall we?" said the Hokage, directing everyone's attention to himself. "In light of recent events, I want to reinforce my ninja when they are sent out on missions outside of Konoha, especially with the Chunin Exams fast approaching. While this is supposed to be a simple, C-rank mission to escort a few merchants to Fishing Village in Tea Country, I would prefer it if Team Guy was accompanied by Team Yugao."

Both Jonin nodded in acceptance of the mission request and Hiruzen tossed Guy a scroll containing the required mission details. "You will be leaving in a few hours after the clients have been notified about the mission's approval. Good luck," the Hokage wished the six assembled ninja.

Bowing down in acceptance of the order, the ninja filed out of the room, Team Guy leading the way out of the office through the double doors. As Tenten passed Naruto, she spied the sword attached to the blond's hip and her curiosity was immediately piqued.

"Hi! I am Tenten. How long have you been using that sword?" Tenten introduced herself to Naruto. The cavalier approach of the girl had caught Naruto unawares, causing the boy to stumble back a few steps to create a little separation between him and the girl.

As he gathered his wits, Naruto struck up a conversation with the girl after introducing himself. As they walked down the stairs, Naruto learnt that Tenten was a bit of a weapons fanatic and that she was excited by the prospect of meeting another young weapon user. He also learnt that Team Guy consisted of Genin a year older than him, and his other friends, and that her teammates were called Neji Hyuga and Rock Lee.

As they exited the building, Yugao spoke to Naruto, interrupting his conversation with Tenten. "Tea Country is a good week away when travelling with a caravan, so pack accordingly. You'll need your sleeping bag and the usual stuff. We meet in two hours at the village gate. Got it?"

Nodding, Naruto split from the group before promising to continue his conversation with Tenten when they were on the road. Coming home to pick up his gear and other essentials, Naruto made sure to leave word for his family about his impending travels.

"Yoshino-san," Naruto said as he burst into the Nara household looking for someone to convey the news to. Finding Yoshino in the kitchen, Naruto told her about the mission and that he would be gone for a while whilst on this mission.

"If you don't have to leave immediately, I'll make some food for you to carry," Yoshino said, glad that Naruto had had the time to stop by and deliver the news himself. Naruto told her that he had an hour to kill, and so she set herself to prepare some food for Naruto, while the blond went to his room to prepare for the mission.

With the money Naruto received for the A-rank mission to the Land of Waves, Naruto had been able to purchase a new set of clothing, more appropriate while he was out of the village. Showering quickly, Naruto dressed himself in a pair of black pants in a similar style to Shikamaru, with white tape binding the ankle of the pants. He donned a plain white t-shirt and completed his ensemble with a deep red jacket. Naruto left his jacket unzipped as he strapped his katana on his left hip with the belt that was added to the scabbard. After strapping on his black ninja sandals, Naruto headed down towards the kitchen where he saw Yoshino set up some food for him.

Yoshino had never seen Naruto in his latest get up and was suitably impressed by the choices he had made in terms of his clothing. After speaking to her husband earlier, she would often catch herself looking at the boy, marveling at the similarity between father and son.

As the two sat down at the table, Naruto inhaled the food Yoshino had prepared for him, having skipped breakfast earlier in the day in order to meet Yugao. When Naruto deemed that enough time was left for him to reach the gates of Konoha with time to spare, he thanked Yoshino for the food, gave her a grateful hug and stepped out of the Nara clan compound.

A few minutes later, Naruto found himself at the gate with the boy Tenten referred to as Rock Lee and decided to introduce himself to the strange looking boy, since they were going to be teammates on this mission. Soon enough the rest of the ninjas had assembled themselves at the gate, breaking into groups of conversation amongst themselves while they waited for the merchants to arrive.

A quarter of an hour before the scheduled departure time, Naruto saw a group of caravans being drawn by horses heading up towards the gate. He stared in awe as the five horses carried people and goods alike in their brightly colored carriages. Naruto had seen the merchants set shop in Konoha's market but never imagined that they travelled in groups or in such ornate modes of transportation.

When the procession finally stopped at the gate, Yugao and Guy went up to speak to the leader of the merchant guild, a man simply known as Akihiro. The Jonin senseis introduced their teams to Akihiro and the large pot-bellied man simply offered a grunt in recognition. He was not sure about a bunch of kids offering him protection but he had acquired two Jonin while paying only for a single team. The Hokage had offered free reinforcements and Akihiro would not refuse the charity.

As the horses pulled the caravans, the shinobi took their positions according to a formation decided by Guy and Yugao. Guy protected the front of the group while Yugao covered the rear, allowing Naruto and Tenten to guard the right, while Neji and Lee provided security on the left hand side of the group.

The merchants had obstinately kept to themselves, hardly ever peeking their heads out to strike conversation with any of the shinobi. That their clients were not a bother was a source of relief for the ninja as it was not uncommon for civilian clients, in particular, to bog down the ninja with a myriad of questions concerning their 'interesting' life styles.

Naruto was paired up with Tenten on one side of the entourage and so he was able to pick up his conversation with the black-haired girl from earlier. Tenten was most curious about Naruto's sword and how he had acquired it. Not knowing about the sheer depth of the girl's admiration for weapons, he mistakenly delved into his encounter with Zabuza. This had made the girl squeal in delight, causing alarm from the ninja who were protecting the group, before she flushed in embarrassment for causing a scene.

Tenten wanted all the details of Naruto's encounter with the Demon of the Mist, prolonging the conversation between the pair until it was time to call it a night.

The ninja set up camp in a clearing some ways off from a river, allowing everyone to fill up their water canisters before nightfall. Mealtime around the fire was a quiet affair, with the most predominant sound around the campfire being the occasional whinny of the horses.

While they were in no means in hostile territory, Yugao and Guy decided to set up a night watch in three rotations. Naruto and Neji would have the first watch, who would wake up Yugao and Tenten for the middle shift while Guy and Lee ensured that everyone took a turn by taking the last shift.

Clearing up the remains of the meal, Naruto and Neji watched as the merchants and the remaining shinobi, crawled into their sleeping bags and proceeded to get some shut eye. It had not been the most tiresome of days since they had only set out from Konoha at midday but the slow pace of travel was quite dreary and soft snores filled the clearing almost immediately.

Turning to Neji, Naruto decided that the best way to keep himself from falling asleep would be to strike a conversation.

"So Neji-san, are you related to Hinata-chan by any chance? You have the same eyes," asked Naruto. He had not spoken to the longhaired boy at all since they had set out, Lee and Tenten had occupied his time before they set off and during the day's journey, and so he was curious about the third member of Team Guy.

Turning slowly to face Naruto, Neji slowly reclined on the trunk of the tree he sat under and sighed. Family was not his favorite topic of conversation but he knew Naruto did not intentionally breach the subject and decided to indulge the younger boy. He knew the blond's true intentions and figured he might as well collaborate, lest he fall asleep, whilst on watch.

"Hai. Hinata-sama is my cousin but I am part of the Hyuga Branch family while she is part of the Main family," Neji replied, confirming Naruto's suspicions.

Naruto seemed confused while trying to digest the information. _A Main family and a Branch family? Aren't family just one group? _Sensing his confusion, Neji decided to act quickly and nip the situation in the bud. He would not be discussing the matters of the Hyuga traditions with a boy he scarcely knew, regardless of how trustworthy he might seem, in the middle of the night. Instead, Neji asked Naruto a question that raised curiosity in the Hyuga.

"Naruto-san, how is it that you don't have any teammates?"

Naruto guffawed nostalgically before he recounted the events that followed his failed attempt at passing the Academy's Genin Exams. As he finally wound up his story telling, Naruto could tell that even the normally stoic Neji was perplexed and amazed, by the events that unfolded, if the solitary raised eyebrow on the Hyuga's countenance was any evidence.

"Ya, I get that a lot," said Naruto as he smiled at the Hyuga.

Neji schooled his features before he got up and activated his Byakugan one last time before it was time to awaken Tenten and Yugao. He had done so periodically during the first watch and was quite content to report nothing out of the ordinary, save for Naruto's impressively large chakra reserves.

As Neji finally aroused the slumbering Tenten, he crawled into his own sleeping bag and shut his eyes. There had been no evidence of deceit when Naruto told his tale, his Byakugan eyes had seen to that, but it did not make the story seem implausible. Putting thoughts of the blond enigma aside, Neji closed his eyes and fell asleep.

The journey recommenced a few hours after the sun crept over the horizon. The Konoha ninja protected the sides of the caravan group while they travelled along the road that led southeast towards the Land of Tea.

The group travelled for the next four days without incident and was a scant day's journey from the border between the Fire Country and Tea Country. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, they would have arrived at the Fishing Village in Tea Country within a day and a half.

Finally crossing past the border and into Tea Country, the group found themselves in a dense forest, forcing the group to travel at a slower pace due to the congestion caused by the narrower road.

The Genin took to tree hopping while the horse pulled carriages stumbled along the poorly paved path. Naruto and Lee were in charge of offering protection on the right hand side while Neji and Tenten did the same on the left.

The bad roads led to a bumpier ride for the passengers in the caravan and soon the group had to stop since one of the merchants had developed motion sickness from all the excessive swaying around.

Pausing in their journey, the group decided to break for lunch at a small clearing that offered them enough space to tie the horses and set up a small camp for the meal.

As the merchant who was unwell went to relieve his stomach of his contents some ways off from the camp, Yugao signaled to Naruto that he should follow the man and offer any help if required. Nodding imperceptibly, Naruto made to follow the man.

Naruto turned away from the man as he bent down at a nearby stream as he rinsed his mouth free of the foul taste that lingered from his upturned stomach.

A rustle in the woods caught Naruto's attention and before he could turn his attention back towards his client, he was caught off guard by the sound of hurried footsteps.

They had been caught in an ambush and Naruto ran towards his client to protect the man. Alas, before he could reach the merchant, a bandit had crept up towards the ill man and sliced him through his back with a sword.

The merchant was dead before he collapsed on the side of the river, the blood from his wound spilling into the tiny body of water, painting it with a slight tinge of red.

Reacting quickly, Naruto reached for his kunai pouch and launched three kunai at the unsuspecting bandit. The bandit had not spotted Naruto earlier and was caught by the trio of kunai. Two of the kunai imbedded itself into the each of the bandit's shoulders while the last struck out painfully through his right palm.

Naruto knew there was no point in attending to the merchant and was sure that the bandit was not acting alone. He made for the clearing as fast as he could, channeling chakra through his legs and taking to the trees for a faster route through to the small clearing.

Naruto met little resistance on his way to the clearing, briefly engaging in combat with a solitary bandit before a cut to the man's arm rendered him incapacitated and unable to cause harm to any members of the group traveling from Konoha.

Naruto continued his rush through the bandits without pause. He needed no motivation to take the initiative after recounting the result of his initial hesitancy. Naruto made sure to steel up his courage and take the charge to the opposition.

The bandits were a group of ragtag men who had no evident form of proper combat training whatsoever. This was evident when the third man Naruto targeted, came flying in towards the blond with reckless abandon. Naruto almost scoffed as he counted the multiple openings his attacker had left to be exploited.

In the midst of the battle, Naruto idly wondered if this is what Yugao saw in him when she first took him on as an apprentice. He had hoped not, and he was sure that even if it had been so, such would not be the case anymore.

Taking a few strides to greet his opponent, Naruto met the man halfway through his charge with a burst of speed, catching the bandit unawares, before the blond caught the man with a brutal slash into the right hip. The wound bleed profusely as Naruto pulled the sword out of the man's body but he did not pause to see if the bandit had survived the attack. The Konoha ninja were outnumbered five to one and Naruto was adamant not to let the attackers take the initiative once again.

Spying a rather large man with a sword of his own some ways of to his right, Naruto made a beeline for the pot-bellied man, sword readied in anticipation of the fight.

The larger man had seen the blond's approach and readied himself. The plan was supposed to be simple guerilla tactic that had gone horribly wrong as the group of bandits failed to account for the strength of the combined forces of the Konoha ninja. They had severely underestimated the capabilities of the younger ninja and as he looked around, it was clear to see that their numerical advantage was being cut asunder with each passing moment.

Focusing his attentions on the rapidly approaching blond, he steadied his sword and readied himself for battle. He had had basic instruction in swordsmanship a long time ago but as he got involved with the group of bandits, both his skill and physique had long since degraded, but he was sure he could put up a decent fight against the pre-teen.

Naruto saw the man face him and slowed the speed of his charge in anticipation of the attack. The man held his sword in his right hand and had it point away from his body. _A sideways slash, _Naruto thought to himself and stopped his charge mere feet away from the large man. Just as predicted, Naruto had managed to position himself wherein he was able to dodge the horizontal strike with a hairsbreadth to spare.

Kicking off the ground, Naruto aimed to cleave the man in twain right through the middle of his chest. Unfortunately, the bandit read Naruto's intentions and was able to parry the heavy attack by bringing his own sword back across the front of his body. A brief stalemate ensued, in a shower of sparks as the two blades collided and Naruto knew he would have to employ a different tactic, as he would not best the bigger man in a contest of strength.

Using the momentum of the strike, Naruto spun to his left and attempted to attack the man from behind. The larger man showed surprising speed by taking a step into the space now vacated by Naruto and spinning around the axis of his belly to face the blond.

As the two continued to exchange blows, Naruto briefly managed to take stock of the situation around him. Fortunately, Guy and Yugao had managed to incapacitate the large majority of the bandits with ease and were dealing with the last remnants of the group. He could not account for either Lee or Neji but spotted Tenten sniping the bandits from her perch on a tree.

Refocusing his attention on his current cause of concern, Naruto jumped away from the latest flurry of sword strikes to create some separation between the pair. The larger man did not move much, focusing on defending himself from the smaller blond, however he had still left a few openings that would provide opportunity for Naruto. Naruto would just have to keep pressing the battle until his opponent slipped up.

Engaging in conflict once again, Naruto kept his eyes peeled for any signs, where the opportunity to defeat his opponent presented itself. As Naruto quickly tired of the waiting game, he decided to take matters into his own hand, he included a clever feint that dragged the man forward and thus exposed the left side of his body. Stepping forward at the chance, Naruto ducked under a tame sword strike and leapt towards the unprotected side of his opponent. With an efficient diagonal slash, Naruto cut the man from just above his navel across to the left shoulder.

As he passed the man he had just cut, Naruto was covered in a spray of blood that burst forth from the large wound on the man's body, coating the left hand side of the blond's face with blood.

The large man fell to his knees as he took stock of his injury. The blade had cut through a rib and forced it inwards, puncturing his left lung in the process. He was dead as soon as his face hit the forest floor.

Naruto stood stationary as he heard the thud that accompanied the large man's body make contact with the ground. The only other sound that now filled his head was the thumping of his own heart. He had made his first kill, and the reality of the situation was only now beginning to dawn upon him.

The black sword hung limply in his palm, dangling off to the right of his body, while blood dripped from its fine point and onto the ground. Naruto had had to come to terms with the fact that he had just taken a life. It was understandable of course, considering his status as a ninja, however the reality of the situation was far more shocking. He had seen Zabuza mow down an entire group of hired swords. Death was not an alien concept to the blond. Taking someone's life with his own hands, however, was a concept he was struggling to come to terms with.

Naruto's entire frame shook as he replayed the events of the last few moments in his head. The blood caked on his face forming a half mask as it dried in the heat of the forest. Naruto steadied his breathing to calm the thunderous roar of his own heartbeat as it pounded against his sensitive eardrums.

The noise in the battlefield dulled and Naruto instinctively knew that the last of the bandits had been taken care of. He did not need to turn around to face his comrades to know of this. They had all survived and the only casualty the group suffered was to one of the merchants that had been initially caught unawares. _The merchant under my protection._

Flashes from his fight kept popping up in his mind's eye and no matter how hard Naruto clenched his eyes shut, the images would repeat themselves. Naruto could taste the copper of the other man's blood in his own mouth. The metallic tang that now flared his senses was a reminder of the deed that had been done. _But it had to be done. _

Unable to come to terms with the taking of another man's life, Naruto finally broke down into tears as sobs racked his body. Convulsions shook his young body as he finally fell to the ground, aghast at his own actions and perplexed as to why he felt no emotion whatsoever for his opponent. When Zabuza had left the world of the living, Naruto was overcome with emotion. Right now, the blond felt nothing akin to any emotion towards the man he had just slain. His only emotions concerned his own life choices. _Murderer. _As Naruto lay on his back, the sword dropped from his grip and fell to the ground beside him.

Naruto's compromised mental state was a great avenue of opportunity. He had been jailed for over twelve years now and had craved the freedom. However, he was not without understanding and the great sentient being made his first attempt at establishing a confrontation with his jailer.

"**Open your eyes kit. It's time to talk**," Kyubi called out to his distressed jailor.


	12. Facing Your Inner Demon

Sword Shadow

Chapter 12 – Facing Your Inner Demon

_Drip. _

_Splash._

The sound from the drop of water that fell from the ceiling reverberated across the entire space. Naruto could _feel_ the sound travelling into a seemingly endless corridor.

_Drip. _

Lying on his back, Naruto took stock of his surroundings as best as he could. Turning his head from side to side, he noticed he was in some sort of sewer or drainage system. Before the adoption, Naruto had often taken to hiding in the sewers when chased by an angry mob of Konoha citizens, so he recognized his surroundings fairly quickly.

_Splash._

It was because they saw him as the reincarnation of the Kyubi and not the human tasked with keeping the monolithic beast at bay. They had despised him for a role he did not select. He had been abused, verbally and physically, more times than he would like to recount.

_Kyubi._

Not once had Naruto interacted with the Kyubi but the very presence of the beast had ensured that the early years of his life had been nothing short of miserable – until Yugao's timely interference.

Naruto wasn't sure of two things at the moment. Surely the Kyubi did not intend on getting sealed in an infant, so how did Naruto truly feel about the great sentient being sealed up within his body? The second matter required more immediate attention. _Why am I in a sewer?_

Naruto knew he was on a battlefield just a moment earlier. The memory of the kill was fresh in his head. So how had he been transported into a sewer? Was it a memory from his childhood?

"**Open your eyes kit. It's time to talk**," Kyubi called out to his distressed jailor.

Naruto sat up immediately. The voice that spoke to him sounded ancient yet full of energy, it was a whisper yet it was powerful. Naruto turned in the direction that the voice emanated from and noticed the faintest hue of orange at the furthest reaches of one side of the corridor. Deciding to walk towards the source of the sound and light, Naruto finally got up and started making his way towards the eerie orange light.

Trudging along the ankle deep waters, Naruto made his way towards the literal light at, what he was hoping was, the end of the tunnel. He made no effort to hurry the pace of his footsteps but soon found himself in front a large gate that stretched as high as he could see.

Bizarrely, the light that had guided him towards his destination had abruptly disappeared. The gate was the only thing at the end of the corridor and it seemed that it was as deep as it was tall.

"**Do you know where we are?"**

The voice could have only come from behind the gates but the sound echoed off the sides of the walls forcing Naruto to turn around and ensure that someone had not snuck up on him from behind and spoken in that ghastly voice.

Not trusting his voice, Naruto walked up closer to the gates to try and figure out what was happening. That was when realization struck him – hard. Naruto first noticed the paper that was bound to one of the bars of the 'gate', a single word written on it. _Seal._ It was then that he realized that he was not in front of a gate. Naruto was standing in front of the 'jail' that imprisoned the most powerful being in existence.

'Kyubi', Naruto thought to himself as he took a few steps away from the prison to gauge the sheer size of the prison.

Taking a few steps forward, the Kyubi stepped into Naruto's view, away from the darkness at the end of his prison cell. The Kyubi sat himself down and rested his giant head on its front paws. The fox was absolutely large. His head alone occupied so much of the space a short distance away from the blond that Naruto had difficulty focusing on anything else. The skin of the beast was a shade of orange and red that reminded Naruto of fire. Nine tails swished around in the back, each seemingly, with a mind of its own.

Neither occupants of the corridor spoke a word. Both Naruto and Kyubi took the time to study each other. Naruto was an insignificant whelp that Kyubi would have crushed without the slightest concern if he weren't shackled in this damnable place. Kyubi was the greatest beast in all existence but was powerless in this place – wherever it may be.

"Are we in the seal?" asked Naruto, turning around to examine his surroundings in more detail as he voiced his suspicions. The jail was far more intricate than Naruto had noticed in his cursory observation. Each bar of the jail was inscribed in kanji so numerous and intricate that Naruto was beginning to get a headache trying to focus on them.

"**Not exactly. Guess again."**

Naruto did not want to play guessing games with the Kyubi. He did not appreciate the oversized cat's cavalier attitude.

"I don't have the time to be playing…"

"**In here, you control the flow of time," **the Kyubi interrupted Naruto's diatribe.

Naruto looked shocked. The Kyubi had the audacity to interrupt him but that was not the only reason the blond was puzzled.

The Kyubi had just supplied information that helped Naruto put the pieces together. _I control the flow of time in here. _That definitely narrowed the list of the possible places that this strange encounter was happening in. _The Kyubi is sealed within me._

"This is happening in my mind?"

"**Yes and no. It's happening in a part of it, more specifically your mindscape. You've imagined this place."**

"This is my imagination? So this is not real?" asked Naruto.

"**You aren't really standing in front of me. In the real world, you have just passed out on a field after making a kill. Quite disdainful to be honest," **the Kyubi said, adding a scoff to emphasize his feelings about the matter.

The giant ball of fur was really beginning to annoy Naruto with his 'holier than thou' attitude. However, Naruto made no attempt to voice his opinions. He had successfully not thought about the killing of another man since he woke up in this forsaken place and the Kyubi had callously brought up the memory.

Naruto's face morphed into a sour look as a scowl shaped his countenance. Kyubi looked at the human that was supposed to be strong enough to hold his powers back with apathy.

"**You are a ninja, are you not? Ninja's kill!" **Kyubi shouted at the blond.

Kyubi's booming voice shook Naruto out of his reverie and he turned to face the gigantic beast in front of him.

"I didn't like it," Naruto mumbled under his breath. The Kyubi struggled to catch the words.

"**What did you say?"** asked the Kyubi. He had genuinely not heard the words but his voice held a certain roughness to it, making it sound as if he had been offended by the boy's words.

Naruto was positively livid. He looked the beast dead in the eye and shouted at the top of his lungs. "I did not like it!"

The action had taken more out of the boy than he realized and Naruto was huffing and puffing as he caught his breath.

"**No one does, kit,"** said Kyubi, with a voice that shook Naruto momentarily because of the tone with which it was said.

"Says the monster that destroyed almost all of Konoha single handedly!" Naruto shouted back. Naruto channeled all the hatred that had been unjustly bestowed upon him onto its rightful recipient.

Naruto could have sworn he saw shock register in the eyes of the Kyubi but as soon as he blinked, the emotion was gone. Unfortunately, it was only to be replaced with unbridled fury.

"**That was not my fault! I did not have a say in the matter,"** bellowed Kyubi. The sheer intensity of the voice pushed the blond back a few paces.

Naruto could not justify to himself why he believed the words. It felt… _true. _The Kyubi was a fox and foxes were known for their cunning and chicanery but Naruto felt no such deception from the beast.

"What do you mean? What did you mean when you said you had no say in the matter?" Naruto asked, lowering his voice considerably. The Kyubi was on the brink of divulging something important. Naruto knew it but he would have to play the role of the caring jailor if he wanted to find out more about what the Kyubi was referring to.

The Kyubi said nothing, defiantly staring into his jailor's eyes as if challenging him to bring up the subject matter upon promise of death. He had said too much but the insolent child had tread into matters that led to his imprisonment. They would not be opening that can of worms – not yet at least.

Naruto soon realized that he was not going to get a word out of the Kyubi, especially in the foul mood that the giant beast was in currently.

An awkward silence ensued in the after math of the shouting competition and subsequent ventures into sensitive issues. Kyubi and Naruto continued their staring competition for a while until Naruto finally yielded. He was proud but not arrogant. Naruto finally had the chance to meet the Kyubi and interact with him. There were questions that needed answering and Naruto would be damned if he didn't get at least some of his queries answered.

Deciding to start small, Naruto asked the Kyubi a question to get them started talking again. "Why are we here? I mean, why are we in a sewer?"

The Kyubi appreciated the boy's tact and decided to entertain his questions.** "We are in your mindscape. Right now it is a reflection of your state of mind."**

"Are you saying," Naruto paused for effect, "That my mind is literally in the gutter?"

A smile cracked the lips of the Kyubi, showing large, white and sharp canines. **"It used to be worse. The water was black and much higher. Ever since your adoption by the Naras, this place has gotten better.**

"Wait! How do you know about my adoption?"

"**The seal connects us in more ways than one. Some parts of our collective minds intertwine, which is why I am able to speak with you in this space. Moreover, my chakra flows in your pathways, mingling with yours – making it more potent as well as hard to control," answered the Kyubi. "Every now and again, I get glimpses into your life, usually when you are in an emotionally vulnerable state. Which brings us back to now, the most vulnerable you have ever been, which is how I was able to establish contact with you."**

Naruto said nothing as he digested the information. _Chakras mingling. Minds sharing. _It truly was quite a lot to process. Finally the blond finished tossing the ideas in his head and spoke.

"So you know all of what I have been through?" Naruto asked in a bitter tone. It was vague but he felt the Kyubi would be able to pin point exactly what he was asking for.

"**I have seen the hatred of the villagers but I will not apologize for it. I am not at fault for their ignorance. You are not me as much as I am not you. If they cannot distinguish that, then I pity them for their foolishness."**

Naruto was stunned. He had absolutely no answer to the Kyubi's response. No clever retort. No witty comeback. The Kyubi was right and it was a sensation that Naruto was not beginning to appreciate. The giant fox had been right about a lot of issues in their first conversation.

Silence ensued albeit for a much shorter time than previously. Once again it was Naruto who broke the quiet. He simply had to know. _No. I need to know._

"Does it ever get easier?" Naruto asked, too embarrassed to even look Kyubi in the eye as he watched his distorted reflection in the ankle deep water.

"**Yes and no. I might have been known for my tendency to create wanton destruction but my reasons were sound, at least to my brethren and myself. Sometimes it as simple as – the ends justify the means. Taking someone else's life should not be done callously and neither should it be done with regret. If you hadn't killed that man, he might have slain one of your comrades. Could you live with the knowledge that you let a stranger live so that he could end the life of a teammate?"**

It was a lot to think about – again. If every conversation with the Kyubi was going to be this philosophical, then Naruto was seriously considering keeping their interactions to a bare minimum. It still bothered the blond that the fox did not divulge more when asked about the attack on Konoha. _Maybe one day the old fox will feel comfortable enough to share._

Naruto did not say anything in response to the fox's wisdom. He was right – infuriatingly so – again. If he had not killed that swordsman, Lee or Neji or Tenten might have been killed. He highly doubted that the bandit would have been able to cause harm to either Guy or Yugao. Nonetheless it was a lot to think about.

Naruto looked up at the Kyubi trying to think of something to say when the fox beat him to it.

"**It's time to return to your world, kit. Remember to keep this a secret. I am not sure how the rest of your friends will feel if they found out that you passed out just so that you can have a chat with the world's most powerful beast"**

Naruto smiled. _Was that the Kyubi attempting a joke? _He blinked once and saw the bars of the jail begin to fade. The next time his eyes closed and reopened, Naruto found himself back in the clearing, still on his back, staring at two blurs that were slowly starting to take a more definite shape.

"'Ruto. Naruto! Yugao-san. He is waking up."


	13. The Chunin Exams Start

Sword Shadow

Chapter 13 – The Chunin Exams Start

After the battle ended, Yugao quickly ran over to Naruto, who had fallen to the ground. She noted that he had killed a rather portulent man with this blade. Naruto lay on his back and seemed to be in a daze, as he was not responding to Yugao's voice. However, she noted that his breathing and heart rate were regular, providing relief to the kunoichi as she noted that he was not in any immediate danger to himself. Yugao instructed Tenten to keep an eye on the boy while she took stock of the situation with Guy.

The merchant Naruto was guarding was the only casualty on the Konoha team's side. Yugao surmised that he had been caught in a surprise attack. The bandits were not especially skillful and Guy had decided to let his team handle them, only stepping in when he deemed fit.

Yugao had noted that they performed as a very cohesive unit. Tenten took to sniping down enemies from her perch reducing the numbers very quickly. Lee ran amok the group in a burst of speed and knocked down anyone in his sight. For the few remaining bandits that managed to avoid Tenten's strikes and Lee's fury, Neji had managed to ensure that their progress was halted. Only two of the bandits from their flank made it through the trio of Genin and Guy dispatched of them quickly enough to ensure that the numbers on the other side would not overwhelm Yugao.

Yugao had to admit that she was very impressed with the teamwork of the three teens. Each person had a designated role, which they performed exceptionally well. While the team rendered the opposition useless by maiming them, Neji was forced to deliver a chakra filled palm strike to the chest of one of the bandits – killing him instantaneously by stopping his heart.

Barring the one merchant, the rest of the group were ushered to their caravans and guarded by Yugao and Guy. While none of them were hurt, a few looked visibly shaken. Considering their lifestyles and the amount of carnage in the vicinity, Yugao deemed that it was a fair enough reaction.

However, Naruto was a ninja and it is inevitable that a ninja that wishes to survive kill in order to do so. She had sent out a clone to assess his path from the riverbank to the clearing, trying to gauge what might have caused his breakdown.

_Three victims. First seriously wounded and immobilized. Second missing an arm and bled to death. Third slashed with the sword and killed near instantaneously._

"'Ruto. Naruto! Yugao-san. He is waking up," yelled Tenten from her spot. Yugao appeared next to the blond with a shunshin and watched over him as she saw him stir out of his daze.

Groaning, Naruto attempted to sit up from his position only to be smothered by an over affectionate Tenten. He was not hurt, physically at least, and no one could know of his encounter with the Kyubi – not yet anyway.

Allowing the brunette to continue embracing him, Naruto made eye contact with his master and did his best to assure her that he was all right via a simple nod of his head.

Coughing into her hand, Yugao gave Naruto the freedom from the vice grip he was held in. "Tenten, I think Naruto would like to breath now."

Tenten reddened as she jumped away from the blond when she realized her position, stepping back to give the blond some space – and air.

Both women looked at the blond expectantly and Naruto realized that he would have to come up with a good story to ensure that the pair of them don't freak out. _The best lies have some element of truth in them._

"Ah," Naruto began sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. Deciding not to make eye contact and staring at the floor below him, Naruto mumbled out a response that the kunoichi almost struggled to catch. "I am sorry. It was my first time and all the blood really got to me, I think."

The blood that coated the blond's face had dried and hardened forming a mask on the left side of his face lent further credibility to his story. He could feel the foreign substance on his face and he was itching to get it off. Standing up, he told the two that he was going to go to the river to wash up and that he would join them shortly.

Within half an hour, the caravan was ready to travel and the group made their way in silence towards Tea Country. The group decided to soldier on through most of the night in order to get to the Fishing Village and avoid a night of camping so close to their destination.

After parting ways with the group of merchants at their destination, the Konoha ninja decided to find themselves a place to stay for the night – or whatever was left of it. There was only one hotel that was open for new customers at the time of day and the six ninja hardly complained when they were offered three rooms for the night. Yugao and Tenten shared one of the rooms, while Guy and Lee slept in the room across the corridor from them, which left Neji and Naruto in the room down the hall.

Naruto had found out that Neji was the only other Genin to have killed in that battle and he wondered how the Byakugan user was so calm. Naruto was still plagued by random flashes of his battles, predominantly from the last one. It unnerved him silly and Naruto could not help but realize that Neji portrayed a perfect picture of what a ninja should be like. _Not the nervous mess I am. _Considering the day's events, both boys fell asleep as soon as they hit their futons.

The next morning, Guy came into the room and told both the boys that they would be leaving after lunch. Naruto took the time afforded to them to buy some of the famous tea of Tea Country for Yoshino. Naruto wandered around the streets of the Fishing Village and soon came to a realization. There were no hateful stares. There was no abuse thrown his way. No one knew he was the jinchuriki of the Kyubi. He was just another traveler. Naruto felt quite at ease here, the salty breeze blowing in from the sea was quite calming.

Walking along the streets with no particular destination in mind, Naruto wandered around the town. He soon entered a market place and found a stall that sold some tea that smelt absolutely divine. Naruto did not drink much tea but even he could appreciate the aroma that wafted in from the store. Standing in line to be served Naruto kept his ears open for any interesting conversation.

Just as he was about to be served, the two men behind him started up a conversation regarding a race. He did not catch any of the details, as he was being served and left the shop with his package in tow.

With a little time to kill, Naruto wandered around the town, catching snippets of conversations as he roamed. The most common topic of discussion concerned a race but Naruto had not learned much else about it other than speculation of who would win the race this year.

Reaching the hotel with a few minutes to spare, Naruto waited for his team outside the entrance. Yugao was the first to arrive and she decided to take the opportunity to talk to the boy about the ordeal he had just faced.

"How are you Naruto?"

"I am all right," replied Naruto. Naruto knew she was asking about his mental state after the previous day's episode so he figured he might as well alleviate her concerns.

"It was difficult to digest at first. Killing someone for the first time, it was a strange feeling. Part of me wanted to do it so that none of you would be hurt, but another… Well it just felt like it shouldn't have been my decision to take someone else's life.

Kyubi's words echoed in Naruto's head. _**Taking someone else's life should not be done callously and neither should it be done with regret. If you hadn't killed that man, he might have slain one of your comrades.**_

"I think I have to come terms with it. I mean, we are ninja after all," Naruto said. He didn't voice any more of Kyubi's sentiments but heard them in his head. _**Ninja's kill!**_Naruto briefly looked at the sword in his scabbard. _And we are ninja after all._

Yugao was pleased that Naruto had taken the situation in his stride but was still concerned for the boy. Having spent so much time in the ANBU, Yugao had numbed herself to the thought of killing. Naruto had not reached that stage. _Yet._

Team Guy soon followed in and the group went to a restaurant to eat up before they recommenced their journey back home. Yugao had replenished their food stocks before meeting Naruto earlier in the day and so the group was ready to travel soon after their meal.

Without having to babysit the merchants, the ninja took to the trees as soon as they could, covering distances in a time span, which would be incomprehensible to an average civilian. The rest of the journey, thankfully, was uneventful. Within a few short days, the Konoha ninja were faced with the imposing structure that was the gates of Konoha.

Guy and Yugao instructed the Genin to go home while they reported into the Hokage about the mission. As Lee and Tenten split from the group, Naruto stopped Neji for a second.

"Neji-san. During the battle, you had to kill one of the bandits didn't you? I was just wondering… was that your first kill?"

Neji looked at the blond quizzically but felt that the boy was simply seeking assurances for his sanity. "Naruto-san, we are ninja and we were on orders to protect the merchants' lives. The bandits chose to attack us and fate had decreed that those men would die by our hands. I admit that it is not an ideal situation but our paths were chosen for us and we did what was needed to survive. It was my first time taking a life but the Juken is a very lethal form of taijutsu. I have come to terms with the power that my style possesses, maybe you should do the same " Neji glanced towards Naruto's sword, gave Naruto a polite nod and turned on his heel to head back to the Hyuga complex.

Naruto repeated Neji's words like a mantra on his way back to the Nara complex. _I have come to terms with the power of my style. _Of the little Naruto could remember the Juken disrupts the chakra pathways of the person who is attacked and causes severe damage to their body. The sword on Naruto's his suddenly felt heavier. If the Juken was a subtle way of killing someone, at least from an external observation, the blade Naruto carried was a dead give away for the type of damage it could do.

Before long, Naruto had finally entered the massive Nara complex and made a beeline towards the house. _His house. _He entered to find both the elder Naras in the kitchen, Shikaku helping his wife set up for the day's lunch. Naruto announced himself before he entered the kitchen to make his presence felt.

"Naruto-kun, you're back. How was your mission?" Yoshino asked, as she bounded over to the blond, enthusiastic as ever. She was acutely aware that she was breaking down Naruto's initial hesitancy to accepting the Nara's as his family. It had taken too long in her opinion but given what the boy was treated like in the earlier stages of his life, she found that she could accommodate his tentativeness.

Naruto set down his sword and pack and hugged his adoptive mother fiercely. Yoshino was surprised by this action as usually when the blond hugged her, it was fleeting at best. However, today Naruto had Yoshino in a vice grip and Yoshino quickly got rid of her surprise and returned the hug with warmth.

After a few moments, Naruto let go of the brunette and looked up to face her. Naruto did not know what to say as he stood from his recently released embrace in silence. Fortunately for him, Shikaku came over with a suitable solution.

"Son, why don't you go grab a shower and join us for lunch eh? You can tell us about your mission if you would like then," said the Nara clan head as he affectionately patted the boy on his head. Grateful for the excuse, Naruto grabbed his pack and sword off the floor and made his way to his room.

Tossing the scabbard onto his bed after undoing the hip strap, Naruto dumped his pack on the floor before he made his way to the shower. After bathing in cold rivers while on the mission, the warm water that cascaded his body was a welcome relief. As the water flowed off his body and down the drain, it seemed to melt his worries away along with it.

Naruto was grateful for his adoptive parents tact and emotional support. They were far from over bearing but they projected their care clearly enough for Naruto to notice.

Stepping out of the shower, Naruto changed into a fresh set of clothes, grabbed the tea he picked up for Yoshino and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

As he clambered down the stairs, Naruto spotted Shikaku already seated at the head of the table and joined him. They made small talk, avoiding the topic of the mission until Yoshino had joined them. Fortunately, they did not have to wait too long as the brunette brought the last of the dishes along with her and sat down after setting the steaming pot of stew down on the table.

"Yoshino-san, I bought this for you from Tea Country," Naruto said as he pushed the packet of tea towards her.

Yoshino took the packet from the blond graciously and took a quick whiff of its contents. A happy smile adorned her face as she thanked Naruto. The three of them began eating their meal in a reserved silence, each savoring the contents of the stew – an Akimichi recipe that Yuuhi had shared with Yoshino a few years back.

Naruto asked about the whereabouts of Shikamaru and when Shikaku told him that Team Asuma had been given extra training sessions in preparation of the upcoming Chunin Exams.

"The Chunin Exams huh? Yugao-sensei told me about it but not if I will be participating," said an exasperated Naruto. He did want the opportunity to progress in rank but it seemed, that like the members of Team Guy, he would be held back from a promotion chance in his first year out of the Academy.

"Each host country does the Chunin Exams a little differently but all them require Chunin hopefuls to register in teams of three. I am sorry Naruto, but I doubt you will be participating in the Exams this year," Yoshino informed the boy, recalling her own Chunin Exams all those years ago.

Naruto looked a little downcast but continued eating his meal. He had seen Team Guy in action. Surely with the extra year's wait he could become fast like Lee, or strong like Neji or as good with weapons as Tenten. _Surely._

When all the food was consumed, neither of the three made an attempt to get up. Naruto patted his stomach contentedly before he wised up to the situation that stood before him. He wanted to tell the Naras about what happened en route to Tea Country but he had no idea how to go about bringing the subject matter up.

Once again he was saved by some clever intervention from Shikaku. "Naruto-kun, if you don't want to tell us what happened during the mission that is quite all right. You don't have to feel compelled to tell us anything. But know this, discussing whatever it is that is bothering you will help get your troubles off your chest."

Naruto was beginning to wonder if Shikaku was truly the mind walker of the previous Ino-Shika-Cho group. That was twice within the space of an hour that he had come to Naruto's aid with some timely suggestion.

Naruto exhaled slowly as he steeled himself to relive the moments that haunted him. Both Neji and Kyubi had brought up fair points when Naruto discussed the situation with them and Naruto could see the rationale in their points of view. However, he still felt some discomfort regarding the issue.

"Its not that I have an issue sharing. Its just that…" Naruto felt silly for stalling and decided that it would be best just to get on with it. Breathing deeply, he began to recall the events that led to his predicament. "We were ambushed on our mission by a group of bandits and I was assigned to look after one of the merchants we were escorting while he took care of his business," Naruto said throwing a knowing look to Shikaku as he paused briefly.

"Well, one of the bandits crept up behind the merchant and attacked him. I was able to incapacitate him shortly after but it was too late for the client. When I realized the group was under attack I went to join them and had to face off against this one guy. He used a sword as well and the fighting got quite intense and then my training kicked in and I went for a lethal attack," Naruto continued without any interruptions from either Nara. At this point he paused yet again but he was sure of himself. Taking a drink of water to moisten his throat, he continued his recollection.

"You see, I know now that if I hadn't taken him out he might have attacked one of the other Genin and caused them injury, or worse. It was just the efficiency of it all I guess. My sword sliced into him effortlessly and then there was this spray of blood."

"I thought of myself as a murder first. But Neji told me something important – that if I didn't do what I had done, someone precious to me could have gotten hurt," Naruto finished, wisely deciding to skip the part where he had a conversation with the most powerful demon in existence in his mindscape.

"The path of a shinobi is never easy son but truly great shinobi are known for putting their lives on the line to protect the ones that they love the most," Shikaku said, deciding to gamble a little as he continued.

"You might resent the man for doing so, but by sealing the Kyubi in you, the Fourth Hokage saved the lives of a lot of people. The people who he swore to protect when he took up the mantle of Kage," as Shikaku finished he chanced a look at Yoshino, he was not sure how well his risk had paid off. Sighing in relief at seeing her smile, Shikaku was caught unawares by a sharp pain in his leg via a swift kick from his loving wife. Her eyes conveyed the message loud and clear. _We will talk about this later – Honey._

The trio continued talking about how Naruto felt about his first kill and slowly the conversation phased out into a mix of different matters. Deciding to try some of the tea Naruto had bought for her, Yoshino decided it was finally time to get off the table. Shikaku and Naruto decided to play a game of Shogi while the tea steeped.

Shikamaru returned just before the sun was going down to see his father and brother playing Shogi on the front porch. A wry smile crept up on Shikamaru's face as he saw Naruto, sweat beading on his forehead from all the focus he was exerting, trying to outfox his father. He realized that he had probably been in the same situation on countless occasions.

Naruto was so focused on his game that he barely managed a distracted wave in his direction as a form of greeting. Usually the overtly enthusiastic blond greeted him with his trademark boisterous attitude. _Maybe he is a Yamanaka, sure is like Ino sometimes. Blond hair? Check. Ridiculously loud and overbearing? Check. Hmmm._

Smiling to himself and returning a greeting from his father, Shikamaru sat down for a moment and assessed the game. _Three moves, _he thought to himself as he figured how long his father would need to tie things up.

Shikamaru went inside to grab a quick shower before the four of them headed to the Akimichi household for their monthly get together. Stopping to greet his mother, Shikamaru almost reached his room when he heard a loud and bitter curse from the porch. _Game. Set. Match._

Dinner at the Akimichi clan house was always a spectacle. Naruto could not fathom how so much food could be made and more importantly consumed by one family. Sure, the monthly Ino-Shika-Cho dinner party at the Akimichi house made for more people around the dinner table, but the plethora of dishes that came from the kitchen was mind boggling to the blond.

"So, Naruto-kun," Ino began, "are you excited for the Chunin Exams?" Naruto just stared dumbly between Ino and Choji, who sat next to her. Whereas Ino ate her noodles demurely, Choji seemed to inhale his into the seemingly bottomless pit that was his stomach.

Regaining his thoughts, Naruto replied, "Ah Ino-chan, I don't think I will be participating in this years Exams. I don't have a team to participate with. I guess it will still be fun to watch."

Naruto's response was the first thing that stopped Choji's continuous consumption since dinner began.

"What? You won't be in the Chunin Exams? That sucks!" Choji said, his emphatic finish spewing noodle broth on a not so pleased Shikamaru.

Naruto and Ino tried their best not to laugh at the lazy boy's expense and restricted themselves to fits of giggles.

Naruto turned to face Choji again and offered him a shrug. "Guess you three are going to make Chunin before me, eh?"

Choji laughed and nodded in approval before he went back to his food. Seeing the rotund boy too busy with his food and Shikamaru too upset to strike a conversation with, Naruto turned to his fellow blonde.

"So Ino-chan how is your training for the Chunin Exams going? You guys all set?"

"You bet! Asuma sensei has been training us into the ground in preparation for the exam. I am as hungry as he is," Ino finished by jerking her thumb in Choji's direction.

Naruto laughed and the two spent time talking about their ninja related lifestyles. Choji joined in when he momentarily paused for air and Shikamaru finally got over being upset long enough to contribute his own two cents.

At long last, dinner finally came to a close but Naruto was so full that he was barely able to get his behind off the chair and put one leg in front of the other so that he could move. In the herculean struggle that followed, Naruto found himself dragged back to a Shikamaru-esque pace and found that the lazy boy was the only one keeping him company as the two families left the Akimichi compound.

"Naruto, did something happen in your latest mission to Tea? When you told Ino the story it seemed like you skipped a massive part of it."

_Sharp as ever. Annoying._

"Shika, we were attacked on our mission and I had to kill one of the bandits. I didn't feel it was appropriate dinner talk so I skipped out of that entire segment," Naruto replied in a glum tone. He didn't feel so morose sharing that part of his story with Shikamaru and was grateful that the lazy boy did not push further.

Not much conversation passed between the two boys as they made their way to the Nara compound. Naruto went to his room and knew that he would have to clean his sword today. He had not drawn the blade since the encounter in the clearing with the bandits and was acutely aware that the blade would lose its sharpness if not cared for.

Yugao had given Naruto everything he needed for proper sword management as well as instructions. Naruto took great pride in looking after his sword and had given the blade its due diligence. But he had never had to clean off bloodstains before.

Naruto took his own sweet time with tending for the blade. He had often lost himself to his thoughts and paused in his ministrations. An hour after he started, Naruto was finally pleased with the job he had done and put it back into the scabbard. Lying on his bed, Naruto fell into a blissful food coma induced sleep.

Yugao had given Naruto the next day off and so the blond dutifully spent it training with his sword. Naruto went through his katas over and over again, feeling more comfortable and confident with each slash at his imaginary opponent.

Naruto assigned a few clones to complete the Chakra Beam and found, at the end of the day, that he had made quite remarkable progress with the technique. Trying the technique out for himself after dispelling all of his clones, Naruto aimed his palm at a tree trunk a couple of feet ahead of him and called out the technique.

The result was quite promising for the blond as the bark of the tree blew apart in a shower of splinters. He was quite pleased with himself and decided that he would train with his left hand to match the progress he had made with his right so that the technique was ready for use in conjunction with his sword.

"Hello Naruto," Yugao called out from just outside the entrance of the Nara compound. It was strange that they decided to meet here instead of their usual clearing in Training Ground 4.

"Yugao sensei," Naruto replied with a polite nod. "How come we are meeting here and not in the training ground?"

"I thought we could train with a friend today. Work on your sword techniques. Refine some of the ones you already now and teach you some new ones as well."

Yugao led Naruto to a dojo located close to Ramen Ichiraku and introduced him to a very sickly looking Jonin named Hayate. Hayate coughed a couple of times before walking over to shake Naruto's hand and explain that he would be taking over his training for the day.

When Naruto looked at the ill Jonin, he had his doubts but Hayate was quick to quash them. "Don't worry Naruto. I was the one who taught Yugao everything she knows about the Leaf Style," Hayate said with great pride. Yugao had been his greatest student, not that he had had many.

Naruto began taking in the details of the room he was in. It was quite a large space, dotted with a few practice dummies and a collection of weapons scattered in one corner of the room.

Yugao stood next to Naruto as she beamed with pride. "I have shown Naruto the basics of the Dance of the Crescent Moon but admittedly we have not had much practice with it. I think he is fast enough to learn the technique for himself," she ruffled his hair affectionately.

Hayate had known of Naruto's progress but was still impressed that Yugao had recommended he start with the advanced forms of the Leaf Style at such a young age. If the blond could continue his rapid growth rate, Hayate envisioned that the boy would one day be able to keep par with the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist. Hayate chuckled to himself as he let his mind indulge his fancies. _Maybe one day he could though, _thought the Tokubetsu Jonin.

The next few hours were the most brutal hours faced by the practice dummies in a long time. Hayate drilled Naruto into the finer points of executing the deadly technique on the hapless dummies. Naruto had traded his sword for a bokken as struck the dummies in turn in combination with his clones.

The training was grueling to say the least and by lunchtime, Naruto was soaked in his own sweat. Hayate offered plenty of praise and advice to the blond and Naruto found himself enjoying the brown haired Jonin's company and training style.

Naruto often caught Hayate stealing glances at Yugao as they practiced. The ex-ANBU was working on her kenjutsu in the far end of the dojo.

"All right Naruto! That's it for now. Let's break for lunch before we pick up anything else," Yugao intervened as she crossed over to where Hayate was training Naruto.

Thankful for the break, Naruto stepped into the washroom to wash his face out and wring the sweat out of his shirt. Hayate might not seem as cruel a taskmaster as Yugao but somehow he managed to push the blond a lot harder than Yugao had ever done.

"Shall we?" Hayate called out, as he gestured towards the door, as the blond reentered the room.

Nodding, Naruto followed the two adults out of the room. Hayate turned around to face him and asked what he wanted to eat. "You can pick the place Naruto, I am treating."

That decided it for Naruto. Hayate was definitely a better teacher. Spying the familiar signboard that signaled that the greatest ramen in the world was mere feet away, Naruto simply beamed and pointed at the sign that read 'Ramen Ichiraku'.

The three ninja spent their lunchtime talking about the various techniques of swordsman and how they differed between the hidden villages. For two reasons, Naruto had very little to contribute to this conversation. For one, he was stuffing his gullet with as much of the heavenly food as he could, which much to his displeasure was a lot less than he could previously. Secondly, Naruto's exposure to sword styles paled in comparison to his lunch buddies and so he spent most of his time simply listening in on their conversation. Nonetheless, Naruto found himself utterly entertained.

Naruto noticed that closeness between Hayate and Yugao and decided to give them some time. On the pretense that he wanted to talk to Teuchi and Ayame, Naruto excused himself for a while, allowing the couple to be alone, even for just a little while.

Teuchi and Ayame were glad to have the blond back in their store. They had missed him terribly and were acutely upset that their greatest customer was being taken away from them for the sake of his training.

After engaging in a little small talk, the three of them were joined by the doting couple. Hayate paid for the bill while Yugao joined Naruto's conversation with Teuchi.

"So Yugao-chan, do you think our superstar here is all ready to become a Chunin?" the ramen vendor asked the kunoichi.

Yugao paused before she replied and chose to direct her answer to Naruto instead. "Naruto-kun, I was meaning to tell you but I guess now is as good a time as any. Since you aren't registered in any Konoha team, you wont be able to participate in this year's Exams." Turning to face Teuchi, she continued, "But Teuchi-san is right you know, you are ready for the Exams." Yugao smiled at the blond as she finished.

Once Yoshino told Naruto that he would need a team to participate in the Chunin Exams, Naruto knew that his chances of taking part in the upcoming ones were fairly non-existent. Hearing Yugao tell Teuchi that she felt he was ready enough for the Exams did instill some confidence in him and Naruto vowed for train hard so that he could make Chunin as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

Over the next week, Naruto spent a lot of time training with Hayate and he had come to appreciate the difficulty of the various aspects of the Leaf Style. Hayate had ensured that the blond learnt more than the Dance of the Crescent Moon by focusing on some of the more complex katas and advanced techniques.

The day of the Exams had finally come and Naruto walked to the Academy with Shikamaru. They had planned to meet with Ino and Choji at the entrance of the school. Naruto spoke with the members of Team Asuma and were soon joined by Team 8. Team 7 was the last of the three teams from Naruto's graduating class to arrive and the group decided to check out the competition together.

Seeing a vast crowd of Chunin hopefuls head to the doors of the Academy, the group decided to split up into their respective teams and figure out their own strategies. Naruto spoke to Sasuke for a while and Naruto felt that the raven haired boy had grown a lot more confident in his abilities than when they had last met shortly after the mission to the Land of Waves had finished.

As each of the teams split from their meeting spot, they said their goodbyes to Naruto. Naruto found it particularly strange that Hinata had come over and told him that she really wished that he would participate in the Exams.

Naruto appreciated the concern from the shy Hyuga and wished her the best of luck and that she stays safe during the exams. Naruto's show of concern caused the already timid girl to blush a shade of red that would put a tomato to shame.

"Oye Shika! You better make sure you come back with that Chunin vest other wise I am going to kick your ass," Naruto shouted eliciting a groan from the lazy Genin and a laugh and a comforting pat on the back from Ino and Choji respectively.

Cheeky little reference to today's win. Go on Andy! I didn't intend to take so long to write this chapter out but I have been writing my dissertation and priorities and all that jazz. Next one shouldn't take as long. I have the outline for it. Just need to put pen to paper, or rather, keyboard to docx?

Until next time,

WotS


	14. Snake Bite

Sword Shadow

Chapter 14 – Snake Bite

_These questions can't be for Genin to solve. And with their points reduction system, it seems like… _

Shikamaru quickly realized that the point of the first test was to gauge the Genin's information gathering ability. From that point on, it was easy dealings for Team Asuma.

_For all her lack of shinobi related attributes, Sakura more than made up for with sheer intellect. The girl's ability to retain and process information was truly without equal in their group. Add to the fact that the two had a tumultuous relationship over the last three years and Sakura had unwittingly announced herself to be the prime target for Ino's Mind Body Switch jutsu._

Sakura was momentarily jolted as Ino activated the jutsu. Effectively seeing through Sakura's eyes, Ino memorized the answers for the test as best as she could within the time limit of the technique. As she committed the answer for the ninth question to memory, she withdrew her conscious from the pinkette, silently acknowledging that her on and off friend was a genius in her own right.

With plenty of time to spare, Ino decided to wait for a while before activating the jutsu on Shikamaru lest she arouse the suspicions of the numerous proctors around her.

_Shikamaru was never a fan of being a recipient of the Mind Body Switch technique. He had had the experience a few times and it felt invasive and probing. For once however, he was glad for the blonde's interference as she quickly conveyed the answers to him._

Ensuring the blonde that he would transfer the information to Choji himself, Shikamaru expanded his shadow and began searching for Choji's so that he could mimic the writing of the answers onto the larger boy's answer sheet. After a few unsuccessful connections, Shikamaru finally melded his shadow to the large Akimichi's and within moments, all of Team Asuma had the answers they required.

'_What the hell?' Shikamaru thought to himself as he gathered his wits about him. After finally gathering the answers for the first of the nine questions, sweating it out through the mental torture Ibiki put them through of the dreaded tenth question only to realize it was a test of character, Shikamaru was faced with yet another questionably mentally stable character._

'Bow down to the Great Anko Mitarashi' read the banner the proctor in the tan overcoat had pinned to the walls.

Shikamaru noted that the crazed proctor for the second exam would have impressed Naruto wonderfully. They were both either completely oblivious to the effects of their quirkiness or they simply didn't care.

Choji yanked Shikamaru out of his reverie by tugging on his arm. He looked at the large boy as he continued tugging on his sleeve, willing him to move lest they get kicked out of the second part of the exam just for being late.

"Come on Shika. We are going to be disqualified if we don't get to the Forest of Death in time."

Still in his daze, body moving on autopilot, Shikamaru mumbled in acquiescence, 'Yes, lets get to the Forest of Death'.

The words only registered in the spiky haired Chunin hopeful after he had spoken them. _Yes, lets get to the Forest of … What have I gotten myself into?_

Ranmaru's outfit provided him perfect cover in the Forest of Death unlike his pink haired teammate who wore a relatively loud red outfit. Dressed in his usual green shirt and black pants, he followed his two teammates in the formation decided by their unofficial team leader – Sasuke.

If he were honest with himself though, Sasuke deserved to be their team leader. Ever since their return from Wave, Sasuke had thrown himself further into his training. The raven-haired boy had become ruthless and throw in his newly acquired 2 tomoe Sharingan and you get one very capable and skilled ninja.

_The plan was rather simple – make it to the base of the tower as soon as possible and then ambush the teams that made it there with both the scrolls. It was Ranmaru who suggested the plan, as it seemed it would be more productive than running around a forest filled the unfathomable beasts. While Sakura was a little hesitant at first, she immediately changed her mind when Sasuke approved of the tactic._

However, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. This, unfortunately, was doubly applicable in the case of ninja. A poorly planned ambush by a trio of rain Genin ensured that the members of Team 7 were involved in a fight within hours of entering the dreaded Forest of Death.

All three Konoha Genin spotted the ambush in waiting well in advance and used the coded hand signals Kakashi taught them to plan out their counter attack.

Sakura pretended to stumble on a rather large tree root, goading the three ninja in waiting out of their hiding places. As one of the three made for Sakura from her right, the pinkette leapt away to her left to engage one of the other attacking nin. Sasuke dove into the space vacated by Sakura to surprise and attack the ninja who was planning to take out the pinkette.

As Ranmaru watched the action unfold behind him, he waited until the Rain ninja behind him got into a better position. Tying ninja wire to his kunai, Ranmaru launched five kunai at his would be attacker. Unaware that his position had been compromised, the Rain ninja was barely able to dodge out of the way of the incoming blades.

Tugging on the wires to manipulate the flight path of the kunai, Ranmaru was able to ensnare his opponent and pin him against the trunk of a tree. The ninja from Rain was at a complete loss as he had gone from being the predator to the prey within seconds.

Seeing Sakura having a little difficulty with her own opponent, Ranmaru was about to offer his help when he saw Sasuke intervene in the battle. The heavily burnt, yet still alive, remains of Sasuke's opponent indicated to Ranmaru that the Rain ninja had been victim to Sasuke's Phoenix Sage Fire technique.

With that, just as quickly as it had started, the battle with the Rain ninja came to its end. Fortunately, the ninja carrying their scroll was the one that Ranmaru had tied up to the tree and not the one Sasuke nearly burnt to a crisp. Ranmaru was slightly afraid of Sasuke and his strength – the Uchiha was going to develop one hell of a mean streak if this continued. Unfortunately for Team 7, the team from Rain had the same Heaven scroll that they did. Nonetheless, they pocketed the scroll in hopes of using it as a bargaining chip if needed.

The group decided that it was best for the safety of the scrolls that Ranmaru be in charge of protecting the second Heaven scroll. If Sasuke got caught with both scrolls then they would go from having two scrolls to having none in moments and considering the fight against the Rain nin, they did not want to take that risk.

Continuing with their original plan, the group of Konoha ninja headed towards the tower in the center of Training Ground 44. Choosing to be cautious, the group chose to find a place to camp for the night. They had had not covered much ground in the first day but they had acquired a second scroll, even if it wasn't the one that they were hoping for.

Tenten was a bit of an oddball when it came to the younger generation of kunoichi. She focused heavily on weapons whereas most others relied on the various forms of jutsu. Of course, having Guy as a team mentor meant that she complimented her style with some taijutsu as well. She figured that it would come in handy if she ever ran out of weapons. It was just that Tenten had so many weapons on her person and sealed in scrolls that that moment was very unlikely.

Not that she knew it, but much like in the case of Team 7, Neji was appointed unofficial team leader once the group stepped into the Forest of Death. He was cool under pressure and made sound, logical choices. While they had not stopped to discuss the formation of the chain of command, she, like Lee, had agreed to the silent agreement whole-heartedly.

Most people thought Tenten was infatuated with the perpetually gloomy Byakugan user but the truth was simply that she respected with Hyuga prodigy's abilities as a ninja. She would be the first to admit that Neji possessed some alluring attributes but she was more attracted to his skills as a ninja than anything else. Tenten respected Neji's prowess as a ninja, anyone who could best Lee in taijutsu deserved that much adulation.

While the entire buzz in the village was about the Chunin Exams, Naruto found himself quite disinterested in the matter. Of course, he would follow the progress of his former classmates as well as that of Tenten's team but he could not get himself to get completely into it. At one point of time, Naruto had desperately wanted to be part of the Exams – whether it was for the chance at promotion or the opportunity to kill time with something else other than training he did not know.

For all intents and purposes, Naruto now had two senseis – Yugao continued training Naruto in his basic skills and Hayate all but took over Naruto's kenjutsu training. Yugao pushed Naruto to focus on building a jutsu repertoire that could compliment his sword style but her primary focus was to enhance the physical capabilities of the blond so that he could execute the techniques of the Leaf Style with the necessary finesse.

It had only been three days since the start of the Chunin Exams and it was really beginning to sink in how much Shikamaru livened up the Nara household. Naruto was seldom at home for all his meals but with both senseis being called away for extra night patrols to guard the village during the Exams, Naruto was now home more often.

Shikamaru's laziness was quite often the subject of conversation and to see the excitable Yoshino bemoan her son's lackadaisical attitude was quite a common sight around the Nara dinner table. With Shikamaru gone and Yoshino instead hoping for her son's safety, things around the table had gotten quite glum.

Things were going disastrously for Team 7. Having acquired the second Heaven scroll, they finally met an opponent who had the complimentary Earth scroll. Sasuke was confident they would finally have the scroll until the creepy ninja from Grass proceeded to swallow the scroll whole and declare a duel to the death for each other's scroll.

Sasuke had never felt fear like he had felt just moments ago. This coming from a kid who had had to relive the execution of his family at the hands of his brother countless times really put things in perspective for the fate of Team 7.

Unbeknownst to Team 7, the Snake Sanin Orochimaru wearing the mask of the Grass ninja was searching for the next container of his soul as he continued on the search for immortality. A young Uchiha with a pair of newly awakened two tomoe Sharingan eyes was quite the prospect.

The battle did not take too long as the Sanin froze the trio of ninja with a dose of killing intent and then when Sasuke made to block Orochimaru's kunai attack from impaling a prone Sakura, he struck down Ranmaru with a casual blow to the back of his head.

Sasuke attempted to mount his best counterattack against the mysterious opponent however, even a direct blast of fire to the face from the Dragon Fire technique seemed to do no damage. The Sanin seemed to have enough of the battle as he reached down his gullet and pulled out the Earth scroll. Sasuke watched as Orochimaru tossed the scroll high into the air. Taking his eyes off his opponent would be Sasuke's undoing as Orochimaru extended his neck in a bizarre fashion and struck his fangs into Sasuke's left shoulder.

In an explosion of righteous fury, Sasuke felt as though his shoulder might implode. Struggling to subdue to the pain, the sensations overtook the raven-haired boy's self control and Sasuke lost the battle to maintain his consciousness.

With Ranmaru knocked out cold and Sasuke developing a fever, Sakura was left tending to both boys by herself. Sakura felt wrong dragging the boys along the ground to get them under a tree – especially her precious Sasuke-kun – but they were so much heavier than her she didn't have much of a choice.

Sakura did not want to bulk up, as it would ruin her lithe appearance. _But now I can't function as a kunoichi. I need to be able to do more than freeze in my tracks when I am attacked by a stronger ninja, _Sakura thought as she berated herself.

As the sole conscious member of Team 7, Sakura set up some traps to prevent opportunistic opponents from taking advantage of their plight.

Ranmaru stirred from his unscheduled nap just before it got dark and Sakura was instantaneously relieved. "Ranmaru-kun!"

"Sa…Sakura. Need… air. Can't… Cant breath" Ranmaru managed to convey to the pinkette who was currently smothering him in a hug.

Unabashed, Sakura hugged the boy one last time before giving him the necessary space. Sakura filled in Ranmaru on the events that transpired since both boys had been knocked out, including the traps she set up and how they were triggered.

"You set up all of that?" Ranmaru asked, clearly impressed with the girl. "Nicely done Sakura!"

Sakura beamed with pride before she took a look at the prone Uchiha. His condition had not ameliorated in the slightest and the she was beginning to worry.

The trio of Sound ninja that was stalking Team 7 now had to deal with the pinkette and the other member of the team. _No biggie. _However, they would have to prolong their moment of attack as Sasuke was still lain of the forest floor, recovering from an earlier encounter with their master, the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru.

Taking turns to sleep, Sakura and Ranmaru watched over Sasuke as his fever showed no signs of abating. By sunrise, both ninja were feeling a lot of energized but their concerns about Sasuke grew. They had two days to get to the tower with the pair of scrolls. For the first time since Team 7 formed, Sasuke was the deadweight.

Just as she was about to wake up Ranmaru, Sakura heard a voice call out in her direction.

"Wake up Sasuke. We want to fight him," said the hunched ninja from Sound. Sakura nudged Ranmaru awake and the boy rose from his slumber to be confronted with a new set of enemies.

"Why are you doing this to Sasuke-kun? What does Orochimaru want with him? What is this weird mark on Sasuke-kun's neck?" shouted Sakura, hoping to buy time in her inevitable showdown with the Sound trio.

Ranmaru mentally prepared himself for the battle that was about to begin. Sakura's mention of the mark on Sasuke's neck had really altered the mood of the attacking ninja. Initially, it appeared that the trio was merely interested in toying with the Uchiha but mention of Orochimaru and the mark really riled them up.

Zaku charged forward to end this quickly but inadvertently triggered the first layer of traps that Sakura had set up. The spiky haired boy was caught in a well-concealed trap that was caused the boy to fall into a pit with bamboo spikes at the bottom. Using the air tubes in his arms, Zaku destroyed the spikes but was momentarily delayed.

Seeing his teammate charge through expectantly, Dosu had not had enough time to warn him about the trap. Trusting that his teammate would be able to take care of himself, Dosu jumped over the trap pit only to be surprised by the second layer of the trap.

Both Dosu and Kin were caught unawares as a large log came hurtling towards them right at the apex of their jump. Dosu was able to blast open a hole in the log with the mechanism on his arm large enough for him and Kin to escape through.

The temporary set back had allowed Zaku to catch up with his teammates but the group was now wary of the pinkette's traps. Advancing cautiously, Zaku attacked Ranmaru while Kin approached Sakura. Tiring quickly of watching his teammates engaged in battle, Dosu threw a kunai towards Sasuke.

In a flash of green, the kunai was stopped from hitting its target. Focusing on the green spandex wearing ninja, Dosu engaged Lee in combat. In a show of speed, Lee disappeared from Dosu's view and kicked the Sound ninja into the air. Reappearing behind him, Lee prepared the Initial Lotus, determined on ending the battle in a single swift move.

Watching as his team leader was wrapped in bandages and being plummeted to the ground, Zaku blew a gust of air towards Ranmaru's chest, knocking the boy out of his way so that he could soften Dosu's point of impact and prevent the boy from having his head crushed.

Sakura was having a tough time against Kin. The Sound kunoichi had pierced her with a fair few senbons. Sakura on the other hand was having no luck with her own thrown weapons and had come off for the worse in their taijutsu battles as well.

As Lee made to attack Dosu once again, as Ranmaru re-enganged Zaku, the spandex wearing ninja was caught by a sound attack that severely damaged his inner ear, causing him to lose his sense of balance.

Kin quickly incapacitated Sakura, holding the pinkette by her hair as she crumpled to the floor. Ranmaru was at a complete loss in his duel against Zaku. Everytime he threw a weapon at Zaku, they were simply blasted back by the strange air holes in the Sound ninja's arms.

Sakura had long since prided herself on her hair, ever since Ino had told her that Sasuke preferred girls with longer hair. However, now was the time for Sakura to act and there was only one way of freeing herself from Kin's hold.

Cutting herself free, Sakura attacked Zaku with clever use of the Body Switch technique and was able to finally pin the boy's arms down by sticking a kunai into his left arm and pinning him to the floor.

As Zaku cried out in anguish, Sakura realized there was still more to do. Lee had been knocked out by Dosu's strange attack and Kin had made a move against Ranmaru.

Effortlessly knocking back Sakura, Dosu made a beeline for Zaku. As he pulled the kunai out of Zaku's arm, he quickly made way as a rage fueled Zaku headed straight towards Sakura. Blasting the girl with a shot of compressed air, Zaku knocked Sakura back towards where Sasuke was rested.

A strange aura enveloped Sasuke as purple markings formed on the right side of his body. Sasuke awoke and rose to his feet as the marking continued to stretch across to cover the rest of his body.

"Sakura," said Sasuke in a voice that sounded nothing like his normal tone, "Who did this to you?"

"That would be me," said Zaku, pointing a proud thumb towards his chest.

Blowing fireballs to obscure his flight path, Sasuke quickly appeared behind Zaku, holding his arms in a vice grip. "People so often lose the things they cherish the most, like, family." Sasuke said as he pulled back on Zaku's arms and dislocated them from the shoulder.

Still radiating the omnious power, Sasuke turned on Dosu. The battle between Ranmaru and Kin had come to a stalemate with both ninjas looking worse for the wear.

"No Sasuke-kun. Don't do it," Sakura said as she hugged the boy from behind to prevent him from continuing on his rampage.

Taken aback by Sakura's actions, Sasuke was held back from advancing. As the adrenaline stopped pumping as furiously in the Uchiha's veins, he could feel the power recede as evidenced visibly by the strange markings fading from his skin.

Beating a hasty retreat, Dosu offered up his Earth scroll to appease the Konoha ninja. As Lee was able to slowly make it to his feet, he felt supported by none other than his teammate, Tenten.

"Come on Lee, let's get you back. We have an exam to pass after all," said Tenten as she let the surprisingly heavy Lee lean on her.

A downcast Lee simply nodded as he looked in Sasuke's direction. The boy had shown impressive speed after awakening and had little difficulty in dispatching of the boy with the tubes in his arms. Lee had thought of himself as useless in that battle, getting knocked down easily by the strange contraption.

He would have to get better. He would have to get stronger. Stronger than Sasuke for sure, for Lee was representing all the geniuses of hard work against Neji and, now, Sasuke.

Team 7 decided to make headway for the tower as quickly as possible. They ran through the night, keeping an eye out for enemies, both human and otherwise. Having to circumnavigate a trio of insanely huge tigers, the group finally managed to reach the tower in the waning hours of the following morning.

Having reached on the morning of the fourth day, Team 7 was afforded the luxury of a day's rest within the confines of the tower. Ranmaru had tried to ask Sakura about the mark she had referred to prior to their confrontation with the Sound ninja but he got no response from the pinkette.

However, he had seen the marks on Sasuke and witnessed first hand, a new power that Sasuke had awakened. _Maybe its part of the Uchiha bloodline but why would that surprise the Sound ninja before they even saw it?_

Something strange was going on and Ranmaru knew that Kakashi should learn about this before something horrible was to happen.

On the fifth day, Team 7 finally met with their Jonin instructor. Congratulating the group on their success, Kakashi was curious to hear what happened during their time in the Forest of Death.

Reluctantly, Sakura, goaded by Kakashi and Ranmaru, despite the protests of Sasuke, revealed the details about their encounter with Orochimaru. Panicking, Kakashi checked the seal on Sasuke's neck but knew that his limited knowledge about the Snake Sanin's affairs told him nothing about the mental stability of is student.

Furthermore, he would have to inform the Hokage about Orochimaru's presence in Konoha. As he took his leave from his team, Kakashi made a beeline for the Hokage Tower. Just as he was about to enter the office, Anko intercepted him.

"We need to talk, Kaka-chan"

AN: I was wondering what sounded better to the readers. Techniques with their names in their English translation like Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire technique or in their original Japanese Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu?

So far I have stuck to the English translation simply because this story is in English but I was wondering what you thought of it. Give me your feedback so I know what you prefer. Thanks.

WotS

Also, I want to give a shout out to a reader who reviewed Chapter 1 under the handle 'Rebecca'. If, by any chance, you are still reading this story, would you like to beta it as well?


	15. Hello Shit Meet Fan

Sword Shadow

Chapter 15 – Hello Shit. Meet Fan.

Kakashi was baffled. Anko might not have been the Ice Queen of Konoha but no one expected the seemingly crazed kunoichi to volunteer help. Yet here they were, in the corner booth in the Dango shop.

Anko explained everything about the curse seal as methodically as possible. She delved into how to suppress the effects of the curse seal and even how it might be enhanced. She acknowledged she did not know much about the biology of the curse seal but she told Kakashi the mental effects of being marked by Orochimaru. She finished by telling the scarecrow ninja that Orochimaru could also control someone with a curse seal and that Sasuke should specifically watch out for the Snake Sannin since had showed a vested interest in the Uchiha.

Kakashi was in a bind. He could apply a temporary suppression seal. However, he knew he could only apply it after the preliminary battles. The whole procedure was time consuming and Kakashi knew the raven-haired Genin would not stand for losing out on testing himself against his peers.

In that case, win or lose, Sasuke would have plenty of time for the suppression seal to be applied. Regardless, coming in on the fourth day gave his team a day to rest up before the preliminaries. A fair few teams had already made it through before his so the preliminaries were inevitable.

Between the arrival of Team 7 and the end of the exams, only two teams made it through with both scrolls in tact. Team Asuma had managed to gather their required scroll but what surprised Team 7 was that the Sound team that Sasuke had thrashed had managed to make it through as well. Zaku had his arms in a cast while the rest of the team looked a little worse for the wear as well. Regardless, considering the amount of time it took them to gather two scrolls, Sasuke had to admit that it was quite a feat.

Naruto was bored. Really, really bored. He had been training pretty much by himself. Both Hayate and Yugao had been given duties during the Exams. Hayate was overseeing the actual exam while Yugao was assigned on the patrol rotation. With not much else to do, Naruto created clones and had them go over the Dance of the Crescent Moon.

Naruto would watch the clones attack a defenseless stump of wood from various angles and see the effect it would have. Naruto had gotten much better with the technique over the past few days. _Practice makes perfect after all eh?_

After the Hokage's speech about the true intentions of the Chunin Exams, Hayate took over from Sarutobi. He offered the participants the opportunity to quit before the start of the preliminary without affecting the progress of their teammates. Only Kabuto raised his hand, claiming the injuries he accumulated over the past five days didn't leave him a fighting chance to progress anyway.

Sasuke's battle with the strange chakra sucking Leaf ninja would have ended a lot sooner if Sasuke gave into the effects of the flaring curse seal. Kakashi had warned him not to rely on the Sharingan too much before the curse seal was suppressed, which meant Sasuke would have to rely on taijutsu.

Hand to hand combat, however, was made even more difficult when the strange ninja started to absorb Sasuke's chakra, forcing the Uchiha to rely on the power of the curse seal. Momentarily losing focus on the battle as he attempted to quell the temptation of the power offered from using the curse seal, Sasuke found himself on the back foot.

Ducking under a strike from Yoroi, Sasuke balanced himself on his arms and kicked the overextended ninja right in the jaw. Yoroi was thrust into the air from the force of the kick and landed roughly onto the floor. Sasuke quickly appeared with a kunai in his hand and pressed it against the back of his opponent's neck. Seeing this, Hayate quickly called the match and awarded Sasuke the win.

Shino was quickly able to beat Zaku in their battle. Despite feigning his right arm to be useless, the Sound ninja was caught unawares by Shino's precociousness. The bug using Konoha ninja cleverly hid a few of his battle partners within the arm holes in Zaku's body forcing the boy's arms to explode when he tried to make use of the air cannon. As Shino knocked out Zaku, Hayate called the medics in to tend to the Sound ninja's wounds right after he announced Shino as the winner of the battle.

Sakura's battle with Ino was the most personal of vendettas on display that day. Emotions that festered from the day they both began to fight for Sasuke's affections came to the fore. The fight between the two Leaf kunoichi was as even as a battle could get. Each punch was blocked or deflected. Each kunai thrown was dodged or directed off its path with a kunai from the other girl.

As the battle heated and quickly approached its climax, both girls knew they each had only one more attack in them. As they charged at each other putting all their might into their fists, the distance between them closed in a blink of the eye. Both kunoichi finally connected with an attack but the force between the attacks was equal and sufficient to knock both of them out. Hayate had no option but to call the match a double knock out.

If Sakura's and Ino's match was even and drawn out, Tenten's battle against Temari of the Sand was a complete mismatch. All the weapons thrown at the Sand kunoichi were blasted away with a wave of her fan. Within mere moments, Hayate called the winner of the battle, Tenten having to be tended to by the medics, as she was knocked unconscious.

Ranmaru put up a brave fight against Kiba but the combination of dog and master proved too much for the final member of Team 7. Ranmaru was finally downed after bravely standing up to the Inuzuka combinations.

The battle between the Hyugas was a one-sided and bloody affair. Provided with a legal platform to vent all his frustrations on the Main clan of the Hyuga household, Neji was relentless in attack.

Shikamaru had managed to fool Kin, from the Sound team, into knocking herself out of contention. Despite being unhappy to fight a girl, he was glad that it was done quickly. He could go back to resting on the railings of the upper balcony and relax.

The longest battle of the preliminaries was the encounter between Lee and Gaara. Proving himself to be a great ninja in his own right, Lee was able to accomplish what no one else had managed before by crumbling Gaara's absolute defense. Unfortunately, Gaara had an advantage few could match and the battle ended with the bones in Lee's arms and leg obliterated by Gaara's Sand Coffin.

After the ten battles of the preliminaries, the nine finalists for the last stage of the Exams drew lots to decide whom they would take on in one-on-one battles.

Neji would take on Kiba in the first battle of the finals while Shikamaru would have to duke it out with the feisty Sand kunoichi Temari. The battle of the prodigies would follow when Sasuke would collide with Gaara and Shino and Kankuro would finish up the first round of battles. Dosu would be given a bye into the next round.

Knowing their competition, all the Genins made it to their respective Jonin senseis and waited for further instructions. The next month would be a rest and recovery period for all the contestants as well as training to give them the edge over their opposition. Shikamaru would be predominantly focusing on the rest and recovery aspect for the next month but he had a feeling that certain overenthusiastic blonds in his life would not make that ideal easy to accomplish.

Naruto was ecstatic for the company again. Not that he was having a horrid time with the elder of the Naras but spending time with people your own age was more appealing to Naruto. The first day Shikamaru made it back, there was a huge party to celebrate the lazy boy's accomplishment. Of course, the party was held at the Akimichi household and by the time everyone had left the house later that night, they were considerably heavier than when they had started.

The only reason Shikamaru tolerated Naruto that night was because he understood that the blond had desperately wanted to be a part of the examination. A chance to prove and test himself against his peers had been robbed from him. So Shikamaru answered all of Naruto's questions patiently, which ended up recalling all of the events from when he had left the blond at the Academy to the picking of the draws.

"Man, if I were you I would want to fight against Sasuke, or that Gaara guy. He seems tough from the way you described him. Controlling sand huh? That's awesome. Though, I don't approve of what he did to Lee-san though." Naruto continued his rambling, not even pausing to note that Shikamaru was letting the blond speak without paying any attention.

"And Ino-chan lost? But she seemed so cheerful at dinner. Man, I had lost to Sakura-chan then I would have hidden myself in my room for days! No offense but Sakura-chan isn't exactly the top competition."

Naruto finally stopped his narrative when they reached home. He was about to stop Shikamaru so that they could continue their discussion but the Nara turned around and gave the blond a look that clearly stated it was bedtime.

Finally conceding that it was only fair that Shikamaru get some rest after five days in a forest and battle to follow almost immediately after, Naruto let him be.

Unfortunately for Naruto, he could not sleep after hearing everything about the Exams. Naruto knew he shouldn't be upset for not having the chance to participate considering the circumstances but that part of his reasoning was ignored in favor of his fancies.

In recent times, Jiraya was the most popular of the three Sanin. That was simply because his Come Come Paradise book series was a roaring success across the length and breadth of the continent. The reason for Jiraya's success of course was that he was always adequately "inspired". Jiraya always found great material to work with because he had his designated peeping spots.

As he was in Konoha doing reconnaissance, he felt he deserved a break from work. Tree hopping to one of his favorite spots by a stream that separated off from the river that flowed behind a few of the major clan houses.

Considering the Chunin Exams were on and all the bathhouses were most likely full from the influx of foreigners, Jiraya expected to find all the lithe and bodacious kunoichi form the nearby clans to rinse off in the cool stream.

However, when Jiraya did reach his destination, the sight that greeted his eyes piqued his interest due to a completely different reason. Standing before his eyes, was none other than his protégé's child, the jinchuriki of the Kyubi, Naruto Uzumaki. _So that's your brat eh, Minato?_

Upon closer inspection, what Jiraya noticed puzzled him even more. Lying next to the blond was a sword. There was nothing fancy about the sword, it was a standard ANBU issued sword with a few tweaks of the guard. _He is into kenjutsu, _Jiraya thought to himself? _Guess he is more like Kushina than Minato. I wonder if he even knows his lineage, much less the fact that his mother's side of the family used to wield the deadliest style of kenjutsu._

Jiraya spied on the boy as he went through his routines with the sword. He had to admit that he was quite impressed with the boy. He moved well, wasting little energy in superfluous motions but most importantly he moved fast. _That boy is fast – that is easily Chunin level speed._

Deciding that he should finally announce his presence to his godson, Jiraya jumped off his perch and landed on the opposite bank. The appearance of a large man practically covered in a mess of spiky white hair startled Naruto. _How had I not sensed his presence before?_

The two stood in silence as the faced off on opposite sides of the bank. Naruto could not determine whether the man on the other side of the bank was friend or foe. The forehead protector he was wearing was adorned with an insignia that he did not recognize.

"How are you? And what do you want?" asked Naruto, cautiously moving towards his sword in case a fight broke out.

Jiraya burst into laughter sensing the blond's apprehension. Naruto was not too impressed with the old man's attitude but as the laughter died down, Jiraya finally spoke. "Don't you know who I am, kid?"

Naruto obviously had no idea. When Jiraya looked upset he took it upon himself to introduce himself. "I am Jiraya of the Sanin, ring any bells?"

"What? No way? You… You are Jiraya? The Sanin? Then why don't you have the Leaf insignia on your forehead protector?"

"Of course its me! And just because I don't have the same symbol on my hitate as you do doesn't mean I am not loyal to Konoha."

"Okay then. Say I believe you. What are you doing here?"

"To be honest. I just came here to peep and found you instead."

"What? You were peeping on me? PERVERT!" Naruto shouted.

In a blink of an eye, Jiraya appeared in front of Naruto and clamped his mouth shut.

"Kid! What the hell is wrong with you? I didn't come to peep on you. Usually this place is crawling with bathing kunoichi. I guess you scared them off didn't you?"

Naruto was still shocked at the speed with which the Sanin moved. He had barely seen him move. No after image and no sign of a Shunshin either. Just plain good old speed. Eyes the size of saucer plates, Naruto was still too dumbfounded to speak.

"Besides. I'm not a pervert," Jiraya said pointing his right thumb at himself as he removed his hand from over Naruto's mouth. "I am a super pervert!" He finished with a proud smile.

That definitely brought Naruto out of his stupor. Here was a man, rumored to be as strong as the Hokage, calling himself a super pervert. As if to prove his point, Naruto suddenly found himself in possession of a book, thrust into his hands by Jiraya.

"It's a good read, I swear!"

Naruto read the title but learnt more about what the book would be about from the raunchy photo that adorned the cover. Blushing, Naruto returned the book to Jiraya.

"Keep it. It's good for me to having younger readers too. Call it my civic duty" Jiraya said, proud to have spread to the message of love… making.

Hesitantly, Naruto put the bag into his pack. His training for today was no over after the disturbance by the perverted old man. Grabbing the sword on his way back, Naruto was stopped by Jiraya.

"Hey kid. Want a spar?"

Naruto could not have been happier since his only opponents since the Chunin Exams began had been his own clones and stumps of wood. Now he was presented a chance to test himself, against a Sanin even.

Eager as ever, Naruto got into his basic stance. He was prepared to face off when Jiraya held his palm up.

"I hope you don't think you are going to be fighting me directly. Kid, I am a Sanin. I might accidently kill you. You will be going against my Earth clone"

Creating the seals for the Earth Release: Shadow Clone technique, Jiraya moved off to the side to lean on a tree trunk and watch the entertainment unfold. Seeing Naruto visibly upset, Jiraya decided to sweeten the deal.

"I'll tell you what. This clone has a tenth of my strength. Land a blow on it and I'll give you a gift."

"No thanks! One of those books is more than enough!"

"Haha. No kid. That was a gift from Naruto Uzumaki the boy. This one is a gift for Naruto the ninja."

"How do you know my name?" said Naruto, suddenly on guard.

"Are you kidding me? I am Jiraya the Sanin. I know everything that goes around, especially here in Konoha. I know you are the kid that helped save Konoha all those years ago."

Naruto knew Jiraya was talking about the sealing of the Kyubi. This marked one of the few occasions when Naruto was called out for being the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi but not hated for it. Jiraya seemed to mean what he said and respect the sacrifice. That was a new sensation and Naruto was reinvigorated.

"All right then. Let's cut this clone down to size," said Naruto as he charged forward to attack the mud clone.

The battle was fairly one-dimensional. Jiraya let Naruto attack only blocking his attacks with a kunai or dodging when he felt like it. Naruto attacked in a flurry of sword strikes and well placed kicks but not once did he get past the clone's defense. He knew he shouldn't be getting upset – even if it was a clone, it was the clone of a Sanin.

Deciding to switch tactics, Naruto pulled back and made to hide in the trees. Creating multiple clones, Naruto sent them to strategic locations.

After a few moments, Naruto appeared in front of Jiraya. "Ready to acknowledge your defeat? No shame in it kid. Better men than you have lost against me," the original Jiraya said mockingly from his spot under the tree.

The words had the desired effect on the blond as he launched himself into attacking the sage. Unsheathing his sword and launching into the air, Naruto called out his intentions.

"Leaf Style: Dance of the Crescent Moon"

As soon as he uttered the words, two more versions of Naruto began their approach towards the mud clone. Naruto had placed the clones much closer to Jiraya, which meant they would all reach at the same time. The technique was timed perfectly; Naruto would be able to strike with one, if not all, the clones at the very least.

What Naruto did not expect however, was Jiraya's hair to expand and impale the two clones that were attacking from his blind spot. Naruto was already in mid leap and committed to the attack and could not do anything other than follow through with his original intention.

Trying to skewer the mud clone to the best of his abilities, Naruto swung his sword at the clone as hard as he could. However, the move did not go off as he had hoped. Ducking under the strike, Jiraya spun around his heel and delivered a swift kick to the passing Naruto's derriere.

As the kick connected, Jiraya was confused by the appearance of smoke, signaling the dispersing of a clone. What surprised Jiraya was a the appearance of a fourth Naruto, out of the smoke that had just appeared, right arm thrust forward yelling, "Chakra Beam"

As a beam of chakra flew at Jiraya from close quarters, the clone had only one option. Manipulating the chakra he had channeled to his hair to impale the two clones before, Jiraya forced himself to be protected by the Needle Jizo technique.

Naruto cursed as he could have sworn that he was going to hit the clone with that combination. Alas, before he could even begin complaining, the clone disappeared from his view and reappeared behind him. A savage chop to the back of his head dropped the blond to the floor.

When Naruto finally woke up from his mini coma he rose to the sight of Jiraya staring at his face. "Welcome to the land of the living kid! Geez, you sure cant take a hit can you? One shot and down like a sack of potatoes. Boom!", said Jiraya, clapping his hands together for emphasis.

As Jiraya laughed at Naruto's expense, the blond began to get off his ass and dust himself off. "Laugh it up but that was a clean hit, even if it only hit your hair. What was that technique by the way?"

"Needle Jizo. Very useful technique if I may say so myself. Anyway, you make a good point. You did land a hit, even if it was completely useless. So, as promised, here is your gift," Jiraya added one last jibe before he handed over a piece of paper with intricate seals drawn on it.

Naruto looked at the piece of paper, turning it around and examining it from various angles. "So what does it do?"

"Where is the fun in that? All I'll say is that when you are in a battle you can't win by yourself just channel some chakra into the piece of paper and help will be on its way. Do be warned though, it really needs to be hopeless situation to be useful. And kid, don't waste it on something stupid."

Naruto was perplexed but slid the paper into his pouch nonetheless. Noticing that the sun was just creeping under the tree line, Naruto decided that he would make his way home.

"Thanks Pervy Sage"

_There might be a war on the horizon. Stay safe kid. _Jiraya just waved as he disappeared in puff of smoke.

Over the next month, Naruto saw neither hide nor tail of the white-haired Sanin. Continuing his practice as ardently as ever, Naruto focused his training on incorporating the Chakra Beam into his kenjutsu.

The day of the Finals had finally arrived. Naruto was sick and tired of training all by himself. He had not heard a word out of either of his masters. He knew they were busy but they could have at least left word for him. If Hayate was only busy with the Exam then surely he could have met the blond at some point.

Packed into the stadium along with his parents and the rest of the Ino-Shika-Cho group, Naruto eagerly anticipated the start of the exam.

Shikamaru had told Naruto that he had been paired to face off against Temari – a sand Kunoichi that uses wind elemental attacks. However, Shikamaru's match would not begin until after the first two matches finished.

As the Hokage made his speech, Naruto looked around the arena. Spying Shikamaru standing in the center amongst the other participants, Naruto frantically waved towards his brother.

"Naruto-kun, I don't think he can see you from here," said Yoshino as the blond continued waving frantically. However, Yoshino was wrong, as Shikamaru had indeed spotted the overly enthusiastic blond in amongst the crowd. Shikamaru had decided to ignore the boy's antics, leading to more furious hand waving. Shikamaru smiled as he watched the blond out of the corner of his eyes. If nothing else, it distracted him from the impending battle and calmed his nerves a little.

As the first match was announced, the arena erupted into a cacophony of noise – cheering and whistling filled the arena. As Naruto looked along the line of finalists, he noticed Shino and Neji as well as Kiba but could not spot Sasuke. Shikamaru had told him all the finalists and how they fought during the preliminaries. _Sasuke had definitely won his match so why wasn't he here yet?_

Naruto didn't recognize the proctor for the finals. It definitely was not Hayate, so where was the kenjutsu user. As the senbon-chewing proctor began the first match, Naruto spied Hinata in the crowd and waved to her. He had not seen the Hyuga girl in ages and had to admit that he looked quite cute even in her overtly baggy clothes.

Kiba rushed into a battle of taijutsu with Neji. Each of Kiba's attacks was getting slapped away by Neji while the Hyuga landed kicks and strikes of the Inuzuka.

"No point in getting into a taijutsu fight with a Hyuga, let alone Neji. I heard he is the most prodigious talent to come out of the Hyuga clan in generations," Shikaku said.

Naruto simply nodded as he acknowledged the clan leader's words. It was true. Neji was barely breaking a sweat in this encounter.

To even things up, Kiba leapt back and brought Akamaru into the battle. Using the Beast Human Clone technique, Akamaru transformed himself into a perfect copy of Kiba. As the two charged at Neji at great speeds, they spun in the air to launch a devastating attack.

As two vortexes of brute force attempted to slam into Neji in the shape of Kiba and Akamaru using the Fang Over Fang technique, Neji began to duck and weave in order to avoid being pummeled. As Kiba and Akamaru persisted with their attack, Neji was forced to unveil one of his trump cards.

Spinning around and simultaneously releasing chakra from all the chakra points on his body, Neji formed a dome of revolving chakra to not only block the Inuzuka attack but also push them off and seize their momentum.

"The Kaiten?" Shikaku said in disbelief.

Naruto was curious to know what caused such a reaction from the Nara clan head. Sure the technique was amazing to watch and quite effective as well, but if it already had a name then it was a previously established jutsu and not an original jutsu that Neji created. _So what's the big deal?_

Looking around, Naruto spotted Hinata looking on with a stupefied expression. Similar looks were donned on other members of the Hyuga clan. Naruto was curious now more than ever.

Before he could ask, Shikaku explained, "The Kaiten is a technique that shouldn't have been made available to Neji. From the looks of the rest of the Hyuga, it wasn't either. Which means that Neji figured out the technique by himself. Amazing!"

Naruto did not understand or appreciate all of what Shikaku said but he could agree that Neji was a spectacular ninja. Naruto had issues with a technique like the Chakra Beam even with basic instruction but Neji had completely blown that out of the water. To learn the mechanisms of the technique and replicate it himself was a quite a feat and Naruto's respect for Neji rose considerably.

The battle soon ended with Neji's victory. Kiba fought valiantly, together with Akamaru, as was evidenced by the damage they did to the ground when Neji deflected their attacks. The battle only served to reaffirm Naruto's desire to compete. _No point crying over spilt milk._

Next up was the battle between Sasuke and Gaara and from the anticipation building in the crowd, this was the one everyone paid money to see. However, there was one little problem – Sasuke had yet to appear. After a little discussion, it was decided that Shikamaru's fight with Temari be pushed forward instead.

Grumbling on his way down, Shikamaru made his way to the arena floor, taking his own sweet time. On the other hand, an excited Temari leapt off the balcony where he was waiting with her teammates and floated down to the battleground on her fan.

The show by the Sand kunoichi delighted the crowd and they cheered for her. Shikmaru finally made it downstairs to see the Sand kunoichi graciously accepted her fans' admiration and applause.

The battle between Shikamaru and Temari was the complete opposite of the earlier fight. If the first match was a battle of brute force, then this was a chess game.

Naruto was impressed with Shikamaru. The Nara displayed surprising speed as he high tailed it out of the way of Temari's wind attacks. However, the most impressive aspect of the battle was the way Shikamaru planned out his strategy.

As Shikamaru finally caught Temari in her shadow, Naruto had to admit that he would never have been able to see that coming. Naruto had to concede that he might have had a chance to beat Kiba and possibly Neji but stood no chance against the genius that was Shikamaru Nara.

After long, the battle everyone was raving about finally began. No one had seen Sasuke after the sealing. Of course, even fewer knew that Sasuke had been sealed to ward off the effects of the curse seal. For this reason, Sasuke's showy arrival at the arena was greeted with even more cheer – predominantly from all his fan girls – especially Ino and Sakura.

As soon as the proctor chopped his hand down to signal the start of the match, the cork that held the gourd of sand on Gaara's back flew off and sand poured around the red-haired Jinchuriki.

Leaping back to create some separation, Sasuke analyzed his opponent. Watching his opponent, Sasuke was puzzled as he heard the boy speak to himself. However, as soon as the conversation began, it ended. Kakashi had warned Sasuke to not get caught by the sand at all costs. As Gaara launched tendril after tendril of sand towards the Uchiha, Sasuke dutifully dodged every single one, not even trying to block.

Using a burst of speed, Sasuke managed to land a solid blow to Gaara's face causing a crack to appear in his Sand Armor. Goading Gaara into attacking, Sasuke landed another blow on the counterattack to the Jinchuriki from Sand – a quick kick to the side of the temple, causing a spider web like pattern of cracks to form further into the Sand Armor.

Using the Sand Armor was costing Gaara valuable chakra as well as weighing him down considerably. The fast pace of the match meant that Gaara would have to sacrifice sustaining the technique any longer.

After the quick exchange, Gaara dropped the Sand Armor and converted the sand into the Shield of Sand, encasing himself in an orb of densely packed sand. Realizing that none of his regular attacks would do anything to Gaara's defensive shield, Sasuke decided it was time to pull out the trump card.

Running up the arena wall and completing the required hand seals, a mass of chakra began to accumulate in Sasuke's left arm. As the lightning charged chakra began to stabilize, Sasuke ran along the length of the wall – the image of the Uchiha followed the squeal of what sounded like the chirping of a thousand birds.

Gaara stood protected within his dome of sand, fascinated by the Uchiha as he approached him at high speeds. As he blasted off the wall and made a beeline for dome, Sasuke focused all his might on maintaining the chakra for the attack.

As he reached the dome, Sasuke thrust his left arm forward, much like when Naruto cast the Chakra Beam, and with an all mighty yell, announced the name of the attack – "Chidori!"

Up in the stands, Naruto was flabbergasted. That attack was truly frightening and made the Chakra Beam look silly in comparison. The raw power of the attack sent shockwaves away from the dome of sand.

The dome partially exploded, with tendrils of sand trying to pierce the Uchiha. Naruto noticed white feathers floating around and as he turned his attention to the arena as his eyes grew heavy, he heard a demonic sounding voice.

"**Mother wants your blood Uchiha"**


End file.
